Recycling & Giving Back to Costa Rica

Recycling Plastic To Build FREE Homes For The Poor

Our Mission

Our mission is to recover and repurpose plastic waste, build homes for families in need and educate consumers on the issues of single-use plastics.

• Collect waste plastic
• Convert waste plastic to make ECOblocks
• Build homes utilizing ECOblocks
• Donate homes to those in need

Get A Free Hat Or Towel For Supporting Us!

We truly appreciate every donation, so as a thank you we are offering a limited edition Costa Rica Makes Me Happy hat for every recurring donation of $25 or more, and for recurring donations of $50 or more you can choose a hat or a limited edition towel as seen below.

Please be aware that our inventory is warehoused in the USA and and we can only ship to US addresses.

Costa Rica: An Ecological Paradise

Costa Rica is only 51,100 square kilometers, by comparison that's less than half of the size of the state of Kentucky. Situated in Central America and spanning from the Pacific to the Atlantic, Costa Rica is a bridge for countless varieties of animal and plant species between North and South America. It also has allowed the distinct flora and fauna of both continents a place to mix.

Being situated on the "Ring of Fire", Costa Rica is home to many volcanoes including 6 that are active which creates huge elevation changes from sea level to mountain tops, creating a wide variety of diverse climates. In just an hour or two you can drive from the heat of a tropical ocean beach to the cooler temperatures of the elevated terrain closer to the volcanoes. As a result, there are more than 500,000 species of animals living in Costa Rica which ranks this tiny country among the top 20 in the world.

Costa Rica As A World Environmental Leader

With all of these environmental riches, Costa Rica tries to be a world leader in environmental causes. In an effort to protect all of these magnificent animal and plant species Costa Rica has designated more than 25% of it's total land as national parks and reserves, thereby protecting it all from development that would inevitably take away their homes. They also have strict laws protecting rivers and trees which are so important to the eco system.

Despite ranking only 129th in the world in size, Costa Rica has been at the forefront of worldwide climate change initiatives. As a result of this leadership, Costa Rica was awarded by the United Nations with the 2019 Champions of the Earth award. This is the UN’s highest environmental honour and it was in recognition of Costa Rica's role in the protection of nature and its commitment to ambitious policies to combat climate change.

Costa Rica Is An Educated Nation

Costa Rica provides free education to it's residents and as a result the literacy rate in Costa Rica is nearly 98%. Costa Rica also has more than 60 universities including 5 public universities which are among the most respected and prestigious in the country. In fact, with more than 25,000 universities in the world, the QS World University Rankings of 2018 rated The Universidad De Costa Rica in the top 425. To be accepted into a public university Costa Ricans need to take a test and be accepted and it is competitive, but for those that make the grade the annual cost typically doesn't exceed $600.

The challenge is that within Costa Rica there are very limited career opportunities leaving educated youth with the choice of staying in the paradise they call home or leaving to countries that offer more career opportunities. For those that stay, wages for most are far lower than what people from places like the United States would expect. Unfortunately it also means that so many Costa Ricans aren't able to afford many of the basic necessities that you'd expect, despite their education.

Recycling In Costa Rica

Costa Rica is doing tremendous things on a national and global level regarding protecting the environment and the plants and animals within it, and leading the charge against climate change. The one area that Costa Rica has struggled is with recycling. Whether it's a lack of infrastructure, funding or priority, Costa Rica doesn't have the same level of recycling programs in place that you see in most developed countries. In a nation so dedicated to the environment in so many ways, recycling is the one area that they don't keep up.

That's what inspired the creation of Costa Rica Makes Me Happy more than 5 years ago. We saw an opportunity to contribute to this wonderful nation in 2 ways;
1. Introducing an innovative plastic recycling program
2. Providing shelter to local residents in need

Costa Rica Makes Me Happy

Adopt-A-Road Roadside Cleanups

Green Homes: Building Homes For Those In Need

Costa Rica Makes Me Happy is a registered nonprofit organization.
All donations go towards the operations of our programs.
Contact: royce@makesmehappy.org