U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Size - By Material Type, Application, Growth Forecast, 2025 - 2034

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Size

According to a recent study by Global Market Insights Inc., the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market was valued at USD 97.2 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow from USD 104.5 billion in 2025 to USD 212 billion in 2034 at a CAGR of 8.2%.

• The U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market is growing fast as the idea of sustainability takes center stage in planning infrastructures and buildings. Federal policy, particularly the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that has opened USD 1.2 trillion of funds, USD 550 billion of which is allocated to new infrastructure projects. Such initiatives are demanding an incremental use of recycled aggregates, steel, and other low-carbon materials, and demand is guaranteed. The introduction of initiatives like the RECYCLE Act that allocates USD 75 million to support increased education in recycling contributes to the use of recycled material in large-scale projects.
   
• The other significant growth driver is the promotion of green building standards like LEED that directly affect the selection of materials used in residential, commercial, and institutional construction. The U.S. has already certified more than 195,000 LEED buildings totaling nearly 29 billion square feet with Massachusetts, New York and California taking the lead. These certifications value recycled and reclaimed materials, including concrete and steel, insulation and wood, and are important to builders who want to be green. The steady increase of LEED-certified space is indicative of the way sustainability requirements are integrating recycled content into the standard building process.
   
• The growth trends of recycled and upcycled building materials market in U.S. are mixed with the highest growth in West and Southwest due to the high population density in the urban areas and stringent laws on green buildings in California and Texas. The Midwest is gaining momentum considering infrastructure renewal plans and the Southeast is enjoying increasing population and residential construction. It is well adopted in the Northeast, but on a rather lesser level due to the high fees imposed on the tipping of landfills and the rigid disposal policies.
   

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Trends

• The U.S. is rapidly going to prefabrication due to the lack of labor and efficiency requirements. There is a greater trend of embedding recycled steel, insulation and reclaimed wood into modular units by companies, as this ensures a low cost and accelerated certification. This pattern is in line with the housing demand in urban areas, particularly in rapidly expanding areas such as the Southwest and the West. The implication is a structural upsurge in demand on uniform, high-quality recycled materials that could be produced on standardized production lines.
   
• Digital systems such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) are using more data on recycled materials to help optimize procurement and minimize waste. With life-cycle assessments and material traceability incorporated into the design process, contractors will be able to select reclaimed aggregates, recycled plastics, and upcycled wood in a more systemic manner. This trend is related to the requirements of green certification because transparency with the assistance of BIM is much easier to gain LEED points. One such case is the U.S. contractors who are turning the procurement landscape upside down by using Autodesk sustainability modules to track carbon savings through recycled content.
   
• Municipalities, recyclers and construction companies are forming local closed loop building materials ecosystems. Rather than transporting demolition waste to landfills, gypsum, steel, and concrete among others are gathered, recycled and reused in emerging projects. This tendency is linked to the increase in the costs of landfills, which form economic and environmental synergies. Strategic Materials and city governments in other states like California have joined in the act of recycling glass to come up with insulation and drywall products.
   
• There has been growing research and development of hybridized plastics, where recycled plastics are added to the wood fibers or concrete aggregates to strengthen and increase durability. These composites are also being used in decking, cladding and structural elements. This tendency is also connected to the trend of aesthetics + sustainability, where the construction industry seeks a more flexible, eco-friendly product. The successful application of wood-plastic composites in Trex is an excellent example, and the market is growing in residential and commercial outdoor areas.
   

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Analysis

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Based on material type, the market is segmented into recycled concrete aggregates, recycled steel & metals, reclaimed wood products, recycled plastic building products, industrial byproduct materials, recycled gypsum & drywall, and recycled insulation materials. Recycled concrete aggregates segment holds a significant share at a value of USD 36.5 billion in 2024.
 

• The largest share of recycled and upcycled building materials in the U.S. market is Recycled Concrete Aggregates (RCA), which is the most prevalent type of segmentation. The largest market share is attributed to RCA because of its widespread application in road base, pavement, and structural fill applications that are aided by massive infrastructure rehabilitation efforts in states such as Texas, California, and Illinois. Its cost advantage and compliance with strict performance requirements on highways and urban development projects make it the workhorse of the industry. The priorities connected with the sustainable infrastructure introduced by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the situation on the state level with the reuse of construction waste makes adoption even more active.
   
• Recycled Steel & Metals come next as a major product, as recycling of steel and metals is high in the U.S. They must possess the circularity and durability credentials needed in the commercial construction and infrastructure projects. Reclaimed Wood Products are becoming more popular in residential and interior uses, especially in urban and high-density settings such as New York, San Francisco and Seattle, where sustainable aesthetics and green ratings (e.g. LEED) play a key role in buyer decisions. Recycled Plastic Building Products are smaller in the existing share, but they are growing at a pace as states like California promote the diversion of plastic waste into boards, panels, and composites.
   
• In the meantime, the Industrial Byproducts Fly ash and slag remain an important material to rely on to replace cement in concrete mixtures to minimize carbon footprints. Yet, long-term availability is being challenged by supply chain constraints, which are associated with coal plant retirements.
   

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With respect to application, the market is segmented as structural applications, non-structural applications, infrastructure & site work, building envelope applications, residential construction, commercial construction, industrial construction, infrastructure projects, and institutional construction. Structural applications dominated the market by holding a 37.5% share of the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market in 2024.
 

• Structural Applications are the most prevalent of the application segments in the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market, highlighting their central role in mainstream construction. Recycled concrete aggregates, steel, and industrial byproduct products have been in particularly high demand in this category because they can fulfill the load bearing and durability specifications required of bridges, highways, and commercial buildings. Recycled aggregates and steel are increasingly being used by builders and contractors to lower the costs of their projects as well as to meet sustainability requirements and federal procurement regulations.
   
• Non-Structural Applications Reused timber, recycled plastics and insulation products that serve residential and office projects are used in a secondary but expanding market as flooring, wall partitions and decorative finishes. Infrastructure & Site Work is another huge category because road bases, embankments, and site grading is highly used in large volume projects with recycled aggregates. Recycled Insulation and Gypsum Building Envelope Applications are becoming popular with energy-saving codes and state regulations in places such as California and New York.
   
• Residential Construction On the end-user side, there is a growing trend toward reclaimed wood and recycled insulation due to the consumer pressure to create environmentally friendly housing. The Commercial and Industrial Construction projects continue to use high amounts of recycled steel and concrete to maintain the integrity of the structure and save some money.
   

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With over 27.9% market share, West region is leading the recycled and upcycled building materials market in U.S. that is valued at USD 27.1 million in 2024.
 

• The largest portion of the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market is concentrated in the West Region, with California factoring in as the single most powerful state in that region. The high-environmental standards set by California including the CalGreen Building Code and the state-established Construction and Demolition Waste Diversion requirements have increased the use of recycled aggregates, reclaimed wood, and high-recycled-content insulation. Giant infrastructure revitalization and urban regeneration projects in large cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco center on high-need nodes that seek sustainable material to fulfill regulatory demands and climate dreams.
   
• Seattle especially has led the pack as public buildings have increasingly been required to use recycled content materials. The wood-based economy of Oregon has helped to promote the use of reclaimed timber and recycled wood composites in homes and commercial properties, increasing local use of other building materials.
   

The U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market in Midwest region expected to experience significant and promising growth from 2025 to 2034.
 

• The Midwest Region is one of the major markets of the U.S. market of recycled and upcycled building materials, and Illinois and Ohio have become the new leaders. The largest urban center is still Chicago, where old infrastructure and commercial buildings are being redeveloped, creating constant needs in recycled concrete, steel, and asphalt.
   
• The C&D recycling needs of Illinois, in combination with robust local-level circular economy initiatives, have made Chicago a leader in recycling efforts at scale. Likewise, Ohio enjoys its own industrial foundation and state-initiated programs that promote the use of recycled aggregates and industrial byproducts such as fly ash in residential and infrastructure developments.
   
• Michigan and Minnesota are also relevant actors because they have established a powerful construction activity and policy that is sustainability focused. Reclaimed wood and recycled concrete are also beginning to find their way into urban renewal projects in Detroit, and Minnesota is already focusing intensely on green insulation and energy-saving retrofit. Due to the rough weather of the northern Midwest states, building materials, including recycled insulation and air-entrained concrete, are very necessary to prevent damage and thus can be highly effective and used throughout the market.
   

The recycled and upcycled building materials market in Southeast region is expected to experience significant growth from 2025 to 2034.
 

• Southeast Region: The Southeast Region is becoming one of the most rapidly developing markets of recycled and upcycled building materials in the U.S., with Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina in the lead. The high population growth, urbanization and increased residential and commercial building constructions are driving high demand of long-term building inputs.
   
• With Florida being susceptible to climate change, the state has been leading the pack in incorporating recycled aggregates and resilient construction materials in its infrastructure projects, and Atlanta and Charlotte are now emerging as centers of green-certified commercial buildings. The boom housing industry in the region has provided recycle insulation, reclaimed wood and composite decking products, and builders have begun to respond to eco-conscious consumers. The state-level incentives, along with the municipal waste diversion programs, are also aiding increased recycling of construction and demolition waste.
   

The recycled and upcycled building materials market in Northeast is expected to experience significant growth from 2025 to 2034.

• Northeast Region enjoys a lead in the recycled and upcycled building materials market in the U.S., which is largely because of New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. In renovation and retrofitting work, the mature building stock in this region will provide stable demand for reclaimed wood, recycled concrete, and green wood insulation materials.
   
• The City of New York has been on the forefront due to its robust waste diversion requirements and sustainable building requirements under Local Law 97 that requires developers to use low-carbon and recycled materials. In a further step towards the circular economy, Massachusetts has developed recycling rules concerning construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Pennsylvania is an agricultural state that makes use of industrial byproducts such as fly ash and slag as a component of concrete because of its strong cement and aggregates sector.
   

The recycled and upcycled building materials market in Southwest region is expected to experience significant and promising growth from 2025 to 2034.
 

• The Southwest Region is an emerging growth point in the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market, with Texas and Arizona leading most of the growth. Texas leads because it has outpaced other states with huge expenditures on infrastructure, its population growth, and its use of recycled aggregates and industrial byproducts in highways and urban construction. Commercial and residential development is occurring at massive scale in Houston, Dallas, and Austin and is increasingly incorporating reclaimed wood and recycled insulation to achieve cost and sustainability objectives.
   
• Phoenix and the rest of Arizona are undergoing a frenzy of urbanization, with construction contractors embracing the use of recycled concrete and composite to meet green building standards and water conservation goals. The hot weather in the region has also necessitated the use of energy efficient building materials that has brought about the availability of recycled building insulation and roofing materials.
   

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Share

In the U.S. market of recycled and upcycled building materials, the best five companies are Holcim US Inc., CEMEX USA, Heidelberg Materials North America, Owens Corning, and Trex Company. In total, these companies generate an estimated ~50% market share. This is due to their superiority in terms of wide product bases in recycled aggregates, low-carbon cement, insulation, roofing and composite decking and extensive distribution channels in all major regions in the U.S. These companies can remain at the top through recycling infrastructure, digital solutions and sustainable building practices. This is also supported by their strategic acquisitions, their joint venture with waste processors, and their participation in the public-private infrastructure projects.
 

Innovation of products and R&D are the most competitive levers, and the leaders are working on low-carbon concrete, circular roofing, high-recycled-content insulation, and wood-plastic composites. Moreover, these firms are actively using sustainability branding and marketing campaigns to attract contractors, governments and consumers with a strong environmental conscience. They have a competitive edge over smaller competitors due to their capability to implement circular economy models on a large scale.
 

In the meantime, smaller participants and niche companies like GreenFiber, ECORE International and Strategic Materials/Sibelco are making inroads by cutting into specific channels of recycled materials: Cellulose insulation, rubber flooring and recycled glass respectively. These firms are competing on application specialization, local market sensitivity, and health and sustainability attributes of the products. They are responsive to local, regional environmental standards, and local demands of green building solutions.
 

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Market Companies

Major players operating in the U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials industry are:

• Holcim US Inc.
• CEMEX USA
• Heidelberg Materials North America
• Owens Corning
• Trex Company
   

Holcim US has become one of the leading actors in the recycled and upcycled building materials market. By integrating circular economy practices on a relatively large scale in cement, concrete, and aggregates. The company uses RCA, industrial byproducts and low-carbon cement blends as part of its effort to sustain increased sustainability requirements. Through its green concrete, ECOPact, and construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling investments.
 

CEMEX USA has a high competitive advantage with its Vertua portfolio of low-carbon concrete and growing concrete and aggregates recycling programs. The company has put money on the city recycling centres to collect the C&D items used and reuse them in new buildings. Its sustainability plan, which is like Future in Action objectives, focuses on minimizing carbon intensity and increasing the percentage of recycled inputs in its U.S. operations.
 

Heidelberg Materials North America is one of the companies that are highly committed to a carbon-neutral building solution and cement production that utilizes recycling. The company is proactively integrating fly ash, slag and recycled aggregates into its product lines in line with the increase in U.S. infrastructure sustainability requirements. Its large U.S. presence in cement plants, aggregate quarries, and ready-mix can help it to scale-integrate recycled inputs effectively.
 

Owens Corning has already positioned itself as a supply of sustainable insulation and roofing systems through its comprehensive utilization of recycled glass and other reclaimed feedstocks. The company manufactures fiberglass insulation using high recycle content and pursues cyclicality in roofing products by shingle-recycling programs. Its 2030 Sustainability Goals reflects the necessity to decrease emissions, increase the reuse of materials and avoid landfills. The strength is the ability of Owens Corning to create envelope applications where sustainability and energy conservation are crucial factors.
 

Trex Company has set itself apart with a clear leadership read on the market in the U.S. by commanding the wood-plastic composites (WPCs) division. The company makes deck and railing along with outdoor living products using 95% recycled input-a mixture of reclaimed wood fiber and recycled plastic films. The model's direct relevance in plastic waste reduction makes Trex perhaps the closest point of comparison for such closed-loop recycling systems within the building materials industry. The collection programs that the company runs for consumers on polyethylene film thereby bolster the whole pipeline into the raw materials.
 

U.S. Recycled and Upcycled Building Materials Industry News

• In May 2025, Metro Waste Authority (MWA) in Iowa expanded its construction and demolition (C&D) recycling program. As of 2023, more than 30,000 tons of waste have been processed since 2022, and more than 16,000 tons of it has been reused on road base and landfill capping works. The project has saved the country about USD 600,000 in the costs of acquiring and transporting gravel and has established C&D recycling as a cost-effective infrastructure development player.
   
• In May 2025, the upgraded facility was commissioned by ReCB Iowa LLC in Des Moines, Iowa, to produce the high-performance building product, known as Everboard, which is created using post-consumer cartons. The plant will have a recycling capacity of around 10,000 tons per year, and will help avoid large amounts of waste flowing into landfills, and provide sustainable sheathing material to roofing and wall uses. The initiative enhances the use of the circular economy within construction markets in the Midwestern U.S.
   
• In April 2025, Carton Council of North America (in collaboration with Elof Hansson USA Inc. and Upcycling Group) opened a new recycling plant in Lodi, California. The plant will handle around 750 tonnes of food and beverage carton monthly and transform it into long-lasting building boards. The project also increases the recycling infrastructure of California and supplies the state with consistent feedstock to the green construction sector.
   

The U.S. recycled and upcycled building materials market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry, with estimates & forecast in terms of revenue (USD Billion) & volume (Kilo Tons) from 2021 to 2034, for the following segments:

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Market, By Material Type

• Recycled Concrete Aggregates
• Recycled Steel & Metals
• Reclaimed Wood Products
• Recycled Plastic Building Products
• Industrial Byproduct Materials
• Recycled Gypsum & Drywall
• Recycled Insulation Materials

Market, By Application

• Structural Applications
• Non-Structural Applications
• Infrastructure & Site Work
• Building Envelope Applications
• Residential Construction
• Commercial Construction
• Industrial Construction
• Infrastructure Projects
• Institutional Construction

The above information is provided for the following regions and countries:

• Northeast Region
  • New England States
    • Maine
    • New Hampshire
    • Vermont
    • Massachusetts
    • Rhode Island
    • Connecticut
  • Mid-Atlantic States
    • New York
    • New Jersey
    • Pennsylvania
• Southeast Region
  • South Atlantic States
    • Delaware
    • Maryland
    • Virginia
    • West Virginia
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Georgia
    • Florida
  • East South-Central States
    • Kentucky
    • Tennessee
    • Alabama
    • Mississippi
• Midwest Region
  • East North Central States
    • Ohio
    • Indiana
    • Illinois
    • Michigan
    • Wisconsin      
  • West North Central States
    • Minnesota
    • Iowa
    • Missouri
    • North Dakota
    • South Dakota
    • Nebraska
    • Kansas
• Southwest Region
  • West South-Central States
    • Arkansas
    • Louisiana
    • Oklahoma
    • Texas
• West Region
  • Mountain States
    • Montana
    • Idaho
    • Wyoming
    • Colorado
    • New Mexico
    • Arizona
    • Utah
    • Nevada
  • Pacific States
    • Washington
    • Oregon
    • California
    • Alaska
    • Hawaii