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PurposeThis life cycle assessment (LCA) study compares energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental damages for two methods of constructing retaining structures, a traditional method involving a retaining wall backfilled with sand, and an alternative method involving a retaining wall backfilled with shredded tires.MethodsTaking into account the extraction and production of the used construction materials, loading, transport and installation, the cumulative energy demand (CED), global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential, Human Health Criteria Air-mobile, aquatic eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential, and smog potential is determined for each construction method. The seven environmental impact categories are calculated using the software tool, ATHENA (R) Environmental Impact Estimator (ATHENA (R) EIE) for Buildings v5.2.0118.Results and discussionThe seven impact categories were reduced significantly by using shredded tires as retaining wall backfill; this is due to the decrease in the amounts of concrete, reinforcing steel, and fuel quantity consumed by building machines and vehicles transporting construction materials.ConclusionsThe study concludes that in all examined impact categories alternative method provides a larger environmental benefit than the traditional method. Also, the results clearly demonstrate that the use of shredded tires is very effective as a sustainable alternative to retaining structures.