Special Issue “Eco-Friendly Building Materials Made from Industrial Waste”—Reasons for Taking Up the Topic

Contemporary research on ecological building materials focuses on the use of industrial waste as an alternative to traditional raw materials. Utilizing byproducts such as fly ash, slag, and plastic waste not only solves the problem of landfill but often improves the technical parameters of the finished products. Contemporary research on sustainable building materials focuses on the use of industrial waste as an alternative to traditional raw materials. This review article, which opens this Special Issue, provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for sustainable materials and introduces clear criteria for selecting the main global waste streams. Besides systematizing the existing literature, the work critically addresses the most pressing challenges in the sector, such as the upcoming shortage of traditional fly ash resulting from the European energy transition and the volumetric instability of steel slag. Looking ahead, as an opening article, it outlines key avenues for further analysis—including advanced chemical surface modifications and supply chain regionalization—necessary to reduce embodied carbon footprints and combat urban heat islands. Ultimately, the work highlights the systemic possibilities of multi-stream waste upcycling, defining ecological and methodological benchmarks that justify and guide further academic research and industrial implementation in sustainable construction.