From Plastic Waste to Education, Homes, and Hope

Every CRMMH program begins with education and ends with impact. Through The Bag That Builds, students collect and sort plastics, which are transformed into RESIN8 blocks in collaboration with Pedregal and CRDC Global. These blocks build Green Homes, while our community and business programs expand the impact to neighborhoods and cities across Costa Rica.

Donate to TBTB Donate to Green Homes

From a Bag to a Better Future

Every impact starts with education. Through The Bag That Builds, students learn about circular economy while collecting plastics from their homes. These plastics are transformed into RESIN8 blocks with our partners Pedregal and CRDC Global, becoming the foundation for safe housing, stronger communities, and a cleaner Costa Rica.

Check TBTB Locations

The Waste Challenge in Costa Rica

Costa Ricans generate about 4,450 tonnes of municipal waste every day. Most is collected, but around 11% (≈500 tonnes/day) remains uncollected and retained in streets, vacant lots, rivers and streams. Meanwhile, recovery is still low (~9.6%), and an estimated 20% of plastic waste is mismanaged, fueling pollution and lost value. We exist to turn that waste into opportunity: keeping organics out of landfills, boosting recycling, and building circular solutions with schools, condos, and municipalities.

Our Program Journey

What begins with The Bag That Builds in classrooms and homes grows into entire communities and cities. Through recovery centers and business collection routes, plastics are diverted from landfills and oceans, creating cleaner spaces and fueling the growth of our programs.

Step 1 — Education & Collection

The Bag That Builds

We start with education. Partnering with schools, we empower students to collect household plastics in designated orange bags for plastics and transparent bags for other recyclables. Students become agents of change, learning sustainability while driving real impact in their communities.

Step 2

Community Recovery Centers

We establish recovery centers as safe drop-off points where residents bring plastics of all kinds. Our weekly CRMMH collections keep neighborhoods cleaner, healthier, and more connected to the circular economy.

Step 3

Business Route Collection

Local businesses play their part by separating plastics and recyclables. Our team provides six-day-a-week collection, diverting tons of waste from landfills. This material doesn’t just disappear—it fuels housing, schools, and program growth.

Step 4

Building with RESIN8 / ECO Blocks

Plastics collected through schools, communities, and businesses are processed into RESIN8, a high-performance aggregate. With partners like Pedregal and CRDC Global, we produce ECO Blocks that are used to build green homes and resilient infrastructure. Through partnerships with Mercy Home Ministry and Planet Water Foundation, families also gain access to housing, clean water, and electricity.

Turning Plastics into Education, Homes, and Hope

Children & Youth Engaged

Students engaged through “The Bag That Builds” across Santa Cruz.

Schools Participating

Teachers and students trained via the REAP program with bi-weekly collections.

Green homes built

Built from plastic converted cinderblocks

kg (or tonnes) of Plastic Diverted

Waste diverted/cleaned up by CRMMH to date

A WORLD WITHOUT PLASTIC WASTE MAKES US HAPPY

Be Part of the Change

Every bag you help collect, every block we build, every home we raise—all begin with supporters like you.Join us in transforming plastic waste into education, resilient communities, and hope for families across Costa Rica.

Donate to TBTB Donate to Green Homes