Local nonprofit turns plastic into purpose

BY ANNA HUGHES | PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOTTLES2BRICKS

At the intersection of creativity and change, Bottles2Bricks is redefining what it means to make a difference.

The Bottles2Bricks mission is straightforward but bold: empower people and safeguard the planet by transforming plastic waste into innovative structures that uplift communities across the globe. Their impact is profound: so far, they’ve removed 77,000 plastic bottles from the environment and transformed them into nine structures across three countries. These discarded bottles become durable schools, water tanks, shelters, and more.

Lori Ward

“It really is a two-facet nonprofit organization,” co-founder Lori Ward said. “We are not only environmental, but we are humanitarian. And the beauty of what we do is we empower people.”

Four years ago, Ward, a Clarendon Hills resident, joined former Hinsdalean Barbara Riegger and entrepreneur Smiley Hsu in their effort to reduce plastic waste. Riegger and Hsu had already partnered with German architect and environmentalist Andreas Froese, who pioneered the use of “eco bricks,” which are now the foundation of Bottles2Bricks’ work. Through this technique, discarded bottles from the community are filled with sand or soil and sometimes mixed with cement. These “bricks” are laid in a triangular fashion and secured with string to create sturdy, sustainable structures.

Barbara Riegger

“It’s a four-step process. First of all, removing the plastic from the environment, and that is done by the people in the region. And it’s not just, you know, a few people, it’s the entire community that gets involved. And we go and send our technicians there. They’re also educating the people on plastic.”

Their first project took place in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, where Bottles2Bricks — with the help of local residents and inmates from a nearby detention center — built a water tank, an outhouse, and a schoolhouse. That success led them to Yagoua, Cameroon, where they built two classrooms that serve 80 students. They’ve also built a reception house and elementary school in Tanzania, as well as a women’s shelter/counseling center and library — the first ever in the area — in Uganda.

“There was a wonderful gal in Uganda who found us. I remember her sending us a picture of a 17-year-old girl, eight months pregnant…and she said, ‘Now this girl will have a place for shelter,’” Ward said. “And it was very powerful to see the impact.”

“We are not only environmental, but we are humanitarian. And the beauty of what we do is we empower people.”

— Lori Ward, Bottles2Bricks co-founder

Beyond their practical purposes, these projects are also inspiring artistic expression across the communities that build them.

The completed women’s shelter/counseling center in Uganda. Serves as a safe place for young girls subject to domestic violence and a counseling center for education and healing for young girls in the community.

“They did a beautiful job of bringing some artistic — it almost looks like a little bit of a mosaic design — into [the library], and it just draws attention,” Ward said. “It’s really fascinating for the community to see, wow, you know, this was in our environment, and look at the beauty we created from it.”

Everyone involved with Bottles2Bricks is a volunteer, and that’s part of what makes their efforts so special. One team member, marketing manager Isabella Leigh, is a Clarendon Hills resident and student at Texas Christian University. Ward said Leigh jumped at the chance to make an impact.

“As a college student, the biggest thing for me is being intentional with my efforts and with the strengths I’m developing. Bottles2Bricks spoke to me from the very beginning because its mission is so deeply purposeful, and it’s been a beautiful opportunity to use what I’m learning in school in real, meaningful ways,” Leigh said. “The whole reason I chose marketing as my major is that it allows me to use creativity in an intentional, personal, and human-centered way, to help share voices and tell stories that truly matter. Being part of the Bottles2Bricks storytelling process has been exactly that.”

As a young organization that achieved official nonprofit status in March 2025, marketing is at the core of its work. Ward credits their website for helping spread their message, connect them with volunteers, and showcase their efforts thus far.

“We’ve partnered with various organizations as well, which has really helped us jumpstart,” Ward said. “There’s a lot of good people out there doing a lot of great things.”

One major upcoming partnership is with the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, where Ward and Riegger will host MSI’s STEM “Meet Her!” event in March. They’ll present to more than 500 girls in grades three through eight and their families, sharing Bottles2Bricks’ journey, the impact their work has on communities across the globe — especially for girls and women — and how STEM plays a critical role in both their mission and building process. Froese will also attend, demonstrating the eco-brick process and giving students the opportunity to participate.`

“If you think about a brick, it’s very heavy. It kind of seems like a man’s job,” Ward said. “But these bottles, when they’re filled, they’re not heavy like a brick. And women can do this. And in these third-world countries, there are a lot of women who don’t have the opportunity to have employment or to participate.”

In 2026, Bottles2Bricks hopes to expand its reach in three ways:

1. build awareness on who they are and what they’re doing;
2. continue on their main focus, which is their projects; and
3. find partnerships and collaboration initiatives to continue their work in both environmental and humanitarian spaces to support their mission.

Kids celebrate when we share with them that we will donate to the construction of their preschool. The library and the preschool that are currently being built are being built solely by their local builders and engineers, based on the technique our Bottles2Bricks technicians taught them, building the women’s shelter/counseling center.

“It all started for me with a dinner conversation with Barbara through our husbands, who introduced us. So, it doesn’t take much, right?” Ward said. “I really hope that it inspires people to know that you don’t have to be anybody special to make a difference. You just have to have the willingness to take the first step and be willing to take action. That’s it. That’s all it takes.”

To learn more about Bottles2Bricks and the work they’re doing, visit bottles2bricks.org.