The Rotary Club of Belle Ville Ideas Unidas has transformed nearly 100 tons of discarded plastic — largely soft drink bottles — into solid, ecological bricks used in schools, government housing, art installations and other structures, as well as pavers for playgrounds.

Club members regularly oversee the grinding machinery and the aggregate mixing to make a concrete mixture that is then formed into bricks and pavers. This initiative, formed in 2011, has recruited local high school students to the cause of collecting recyclables from what would have otherwise been “trash.”

This process has increased awareness of environmental issues and enhanced community development. One more way Rotarians are leading the way to a better world.