Last Updated on October 20, 2026 by Umar Farooq
Eco friendly pavers fall into four groups: reclaimed pavers that are reused, permeable pavers that keep rain on site, recycled rubber or composite pavers made from scrap, and standard concrete pavers made with less cement. There is no standard that defines "eco friendly" for pavers, so the label tells you nothing until you ask which of those four it means. Reuse saves the most, in my reading, and most paver ads quietly skip it.
I went looking for a certified way to rank these. I did not find one. What follows is what the sources I opened actually back up, and what is a manufacturer's claim.
Pick the goal first, then the paver
A green label can mean four different things, and a paver can only serve one or two of them. If your concern is stormwater, a rubber tile does nothing for it. If your concern is landfill, a permeable concrete paver does nothing for it. Decide which problem you are solving, then read the claims for that one.
Where the carbon in a concrete paver comes from
Concrete pavers are mostly aggregate and cement, and cement is where the carbon sits. Global Efficiency Intelligence puts the cement industry at about 2.3 gigatons of CO2 in 2019, roughly 7 percent of global CO2 (dividing by the International Energy Agency's 33 Gt total) or about 4.5 percent of all greenhouse gases using a larger denominator. About 60 percent of that comes from the chemical reaction that makes clinker, and about 40 percent from fuel and electricity.
I could not find a footprint figure for a single concrete paver from a source I could open, so I am not going to invent one. What the cement numbers do support is a plain point: a paver that already exists has already spent its carbon. Making one fewer is the biggest saving on offer.
Reclaimed pavers: the quiet winner
This is my one strong opinion. The greenest paver is the one nobody had to make, which means salvaged brick or concrete units, or a slightly smaller patio. That is my reasoning from the cement figures above, not a measured comparison, and I found no study that compares the two. The mechanism is straightforward: reuse skips the cement.
Reclaimed pavers have costs of their own: sorting, cleaning and a thickness mismatch you must manage. Our reclaimed pavers guide covers inspection and laying. If you have ever hauled a pallet of old brick in a borrowed truck, you already know the "free" in free pavers is doing some work.
Permeable pavers: the greenest claim with a paper trail
Permeable pavers have the best-documented benefit. Delaware's I-ADAPT planning sheet says permeable pavement reduces runoff and pooling, can filter pollutants and can reduce the road salt needed. It also says lifespans can reach 40 years, which is a state planning claim, not a warranty.
The open area varies by product. In Nicolock's own descriptions, Checker Block has 75 percent open surface, Turfstone 40, Eco-Ridge 13 and Eco-Tre 10. These are manufacturer figures. More open area means more drainage and less solid surface to walk or park on, so match it to the job. Our permeable concrete pavers guide covers joints and upkeep, and turfstone pavers covers the grass-cell type.
The catch: a permeable surface only works over a deep, clean stone base. The permeable paver base guide shows why that base uses 2.4 times the stone of a normal patio (my arithmetic, for a 10 by 12 foot example). That extra stone has its own footprint.
Recycled rubber and composite pavers: read the percentage
Recycled-content pavers use scrap tires and plastics. AZEK's page says its pavers contain up to 95 percent post-consumer recycled material, use 94 percent less energy to make and release 96 percent less CO2 than concrete pavers. Those are vendor claims, and "up to" sets a ceiling, not an average. The same page says its grid system cuts installation time by one-third in one place and two-thirds in another, so read the numbers like a careful accountant.
Hunker adds that composite pavers weigh about one-third as much as concrete and that most meet US Green Building Council standards for LEED credit. It also warns that flying embers can melt the rubber. Ask for the actual recycled percentage in writing. For the rubber type, see our rubber pavers guide, which covers heat and installation.
Reuse first, then drain, then recycle
If you want one rule: reclaim what you can, make the rest permeable if rain is the problem, and treat recycled-content claims as something to verify. Standard concrete pavers are not the villain; a cheap, well-built one that lasts decades beats a green one that fails in five. Ask any paver seller for the mix design and the recycled percentage, and take the answer, or the silence, seriously.
FAQ
What is the most eco friendly paver?
There is no certified ranking. Reclaimed pavers avoid new manufacturing, permeable pavers reduce runoff, and recycled composites use scrap. Which one is best depends on the problem you care about.
Are permeable pavers eco friendly?
They reduce runoff, according to Delaware's planning sheet, but they need a deeper stone base than a standard patio. They are a good fit where flooding or runoff limits are the problem.
Are recycled rubber pavers a green choice?
They keep scrap tires out of landfills, but the recycled percentage and energy claims come from manufacturers. Ask for the real percentage, and remember dark rubber gets very hot in the sun.
Are concrete pavers bad for the environment?
Cement is the carbon-heavy ingredient. Global Efficiency Intelligence puts cement at about 7 percent of global CO2 in 2019. I found no per-paver figure, so reuse and good installation, so they last, are the practical answers.
