House Made From Seven Tonnes of Plastic Waste Becomes Home for Single Mother
Cindy Mora, a cleaner and single mother in Costa Rica, spent nine years saving to buy a plot of land. With help from a loan, she finally acquired a small lot in Alajuelita, just outside San José. However, after purchasing the land, she realized that she had no money left to build a house.
A partnership between Procter & Gamble, Habitat for Humanity, and two Costa Rican organizations, Urbarium and Ekojunto, stepped in to help Mora's family. They built her walls using around seven tonnes of discarded plastic, processed into standardized interlocking blocks called Bloqueplas.
The construction process involved over 800 volunteer hours, mainly from P&G employees. The volunteers worked under engineer supervision without needing any masonry experience. Once the blocks were stacked, they were plastered and painted, making the finished house look like every other home on the block.