MANILA, Philippines ? Mandaluyong will soon start making cement blocks out of waste to reduce the city?s garbage.

The environment-friendly cement blocks would be used for beautification projects, according to Mayor Benhur Abalos.

The mayor said the city acquired recently a pulverizing machine that could transform non-biodegradable wastes like candy wrappers, plastic bottles, Styrofoam, beverage packs, etc. into raw materials for cement blocks.

The pulverizing machine is manufactured in Teresa, Rizal province and costs about P280,000.

Abalos said the city would buy more machines if the first proved to be effective.

The mayor said Mandaluyong was hoping to solve two problems with this project ? dispose of non-biodegradable waste through recycling and provide jobs to out-of-school youths.

Mandaluyong hopes to reduce its plastic waste by 25-30 percent by using it as binder for cement blocks.

Abalos said the city could also minimize its construction costs by 30-40 percent by making its own cement blocks.

The mayor added they planned to centralize the collection of plastic waste from the city?s 27 barangay that would be forwarded to the material recovery facility for recycling.