Resource-Efficient Construction Materials through Recycling and Reuse for Saudi Vision 2030

Abstract

Saudi Arabia’s construction pipeline creates a practical resource-management challenge: project teams must reduce dependence on virgin aggregates and clinker-intensive products while controlling the quality, cost, durability and traceability risks associated with secondary materials. This review therefore moves beyond a general catalogue of recycled construction materials and develops a project-level implementation framework for Saudi building and infrastructure delivery. Thirty publications from 2020–2025 were synthesized around five decision stages: source identification, material qualification, application selection, procurement and approval, and site production control. Evidence on recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), reclaimed components, waste glass, plastics, steel slag, supplementary cementitious materials, geopolymer systems and recycled water is translated into practical acceptance gates for design, materials engineering, procurement, QA/QC and construction teams. The review shows that recycled content alone is a weak decision metric. For Saudi projects, the more defensible approach is to match the secondary material to a defined application and exposure class, verify source quality and contamination limits, validate trial mixtures or product performance, control moisture and batch variability, and document environmental and economic benefit at the functional-unit level. A role-based implementation matrix, stage-gate approval protocol and project KPI set are proposed to support real project execution under Vision 2030. The resulting framework is intended to help project teams convert circular-economy objectives into auditable material approvals, procurement decisions, inspection points and measurable resource-efficiency outcomes rather than treating recycling as a stand-alone sustainability claim.