The focus of this study is incorporating construction sectors within the concept of sustainable building, which essentially concerns resource management as well as waste management. It is evident that building construction is one of the largest consuming activities of non-renewable resources and natural materials worldwide. Simultaneously, enormous amounts of construction and demolition waste are generated as construction works expand to meet the increasing demand. This is not only considered an economic loss, but also an accelerating environmental threat. Therefore, it has become crucial for construction waste management to evolve away from the long practiced traditional methodology, which has been proven economically and ecologically inefficient, toward sustainable alternatives that prioritize waste recovery over disposal. Within this context, this study addresses the management of construction waste by selecting case studies of actual construction projects and scrutinizing their waste management data. The study took place at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where all selected projects conform to the U.S. Green Building Council standards. Thus, the study works on estimating the financial and environmental returns attained by recycling construction waste from such projects. By utilizing the results from the data analysis, the study eventually sets a statistical paradigm with field-based values for typical construction projects to be followed as a guide, indicating how much cost can be saved, and how much landfill volume can be relieved when material waste is recycled. Thereby, the study serves to enhance the sustainable management of construction waste by maximizing the returns of construction waste recovery. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.