# The utilization of Innovative, Eco-friendly recycled walls in the development of border regions’ educational buildings in Egypt

## TL;DR

This paper explores using eco-friendly recycled plastic walls in Egyptian schools to improve thermal comfort and reduce energy costs.

## Contribution

The study introduces and evaluates lightweight recycled plastic bricks as a sustainable alternative to traditional red bricks in Egypt's educational buildings.

## Key findings

- Recycled plastic bricks offer better thermal performance than traditional red bricks.
- The alternative wall system could reduce long-term energy use and improve indoor comfort.
- Initial and operating costs of the new system are analyzed for cost-effectiveness under current and future climate conditions.

## Abstract

The construction sector plays a critical role in shaping social, economic, and environmental outcomes. It consumes about 19% of global energy and nearly half of the electricity used for building construction and operation. As a result, buildings are responsible for roughly one-third of global CO₂ emissions across their entire life cycle—from construction to operation and eventual demolition-making the sector a major driver of climate change and rising temperatures. For this reason, we argue that effective building design cannot be reduced to aesthetics or abstract concepts. It requires a holistic approach that combines thoughtful material selection, strategies to lower energy demand, and sustainable practices such as recycling. Passive design measures—such as optimizing building orientation, natural ventilation, and insulation-are particularly important because they reduce reliance on mechanical systems. In Egypt, however, external walls are still commonly built using half-brick red walls (12 cm thick), a low-cost solution with very poor thermal performance. While this practice keeps initial project costs down, it often undermines thermal comfort for residents and increases long-term energy use. In this study, we examine an alternative wall system: lightweight plastic bricks made from recycled material. These detachable blocks are compared with traditional red bricks to evaluate both the initial and operating costs. Our aim is to test whether such systems can improve indoor thermal comfort while remaining cost-effective under current and future climate conditions.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-24113-5.