Considering the increasing industrial and research interest in sustainability and environmental concerns in refractory production, particularly for steelmaking applications, the recycling of MgO-C refractories has become highly significant. This study contributes to sustainable MgO-C refractory production not only by incorporating recycled MgO-C materials but also by developing an eco-friendly binder system based on fructose, collagen, and tannin. The influence of citric acid as an effective cross-linker in enhancing the cold crushing strength was also investigated. Experimental studies were carried out to determine the optimum binder compositions, incorporating functional and special additives to improve binder performance. Furthermore, the effect of different drying temperatures on the final properties of the produced MgO-C refractories was examined. The MgO-C samples with the selected sustainable binder systems were characterized using the Immersion/Finger test, followed by inclusion analysis in steel and microstructural evaluation through SEM and EDX techniques.