Bus stop made of water bottles opens in Alajuela

A bus stop made of water bottles? Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.

Construction materials for the bus stop include 1,600 recycled water bottles. — (Courtesy of Cristal)

Cristal Water, working with the municipality of Alajuela, on Thursday cut the ribbon on a bus stop made out of 1,600 recycled water bottles, 6,800 plastic caps, 80 kilos of aluminum cans, 750 glass bottles, four pallets and two tires.

Water bottles, pallets, glass bottles and tires are among the materials used to build the bus stop. — (Courtesy of Cristal)

As part of its #DelLadoVerde (“from the green side”) campaign, Cristal created an environmental program that has led to a 15 percent increase in recycling in the municipality, the company said in a news release.

Bus riders break in the new bus stop. — (Courtesy of Cristal)

Cristal collected the recycled materials and spent a month building the bus stop, located on the east side of the Alajuela Hospital. The municipality widened the street to provide enough room for the stop.

Open for business! — (Courtesy of Cristal)

Cristal and its parent company, Florida Beverages, have several recycling and volunteer programs dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of solid waste. Florida Beverages says it collects 630 tons of recyclable materials every month.

“Our vision for the future is to be able to reach all of Costa Rica, transforming everyone who is part of the community into agents ‘of the green side,’ said Gisela Sánchez, director of corporate relations for Florida Beverages. “We’ll only be able to do this if we get private enterprise, local governments, business people and families to agree that we want to leave a better world for future generations.”