When sand is unearthed and shifted, its legal and economic status shifts too. Extracted as a cheap resource in one place, it is converted back into land and becomes naturalized as ground and territory in another. Milica Topalović has described this conversion as “alchemy.” Sand’s origin is not what matters, but rather its uptake: sovereignty over... See more

And, as a so-called “common pool resource,” sand is considered “free,” and therefore cheap to extract.

For instance, in 2018, a start-up named Finite gained attention for developing a biodegradable construction material based on desert sand. Meanwhile, the Singaporean government is experimenting with a construction material made from processed waste, called NEWSand. Nonetheless, the large-scale application of these alternative materials remains... See more

Not all sand is suitable for construction; only marine and river sand, with their angular grains formed by water movement, provide the necessary adhesion and stability for building mass and landfill. In contrast, desert sand is primarily shaped by wind, which leads to rounded grains with a hardened core, making it unsuitable for construction. This... See more

After water, sand is the second most used material in the world. Each year, approximately 40-50 billion metric tons of sand are consumed worldwide