Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
BIÑAN CAMPUS
Positioned on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Philippines are often under threat from erupting
volcanoes, with Mt. Taal, 70km south of Manila, being one of the most formidable in the Luzon
region. An active volcano, Mt. Taal has erupted more than thirty times in the past five centuries
and has claimed at least 6,000 lives. One eruption in 1754 lasted 7 months. However, Taal
volcano’s eruption on January 12, 2020 is considered a catastrophe specially for those individual
and families residing within the 14-kilometer danger zone. More than 100,000 people have been
forced from their homes. Ash spewed from Taal Volcano has been blown about 65km (40miles)
north and blanketed nearby towns for about 5cm or 2 inches thick. Ashfall has caused damage to
over 3.06 billion worth of crops.

Biñan was among the city heavily blanketed with ashfall but, amidst this destructive
power of nature, local officials decided to put the dust to work rather than just cleaning it up.
They turned the adversity into opportunity through the invention of volcanic ash bricks. Mayor
Dimaguila asked residents to collect the fine grey ash and place it in sacks to be collected by
local government unit.Volcanic ashes were sent to Binan City Materials and Recovery Facility
(MRF), a state-owned brick factory. The fine grey powder from Taal is mixed with locally
collected plastic waste and other materials to form cement bricks. MIT has found that
pulverizing volcanic ash and adding it to the mix not only make the process more
environmentally friendly, but results to stronger structure as well.

On the other hand, plastic is the biggest culprit when it comes to waste production. It
accounts for around 90% of all the waste that bobs around in our seas and oceans. We throw
away more plastic that take hundreds of years to biodegrade than any other material. Luckily,
there is a constant stream of new and innovative ideas to tackle the mounting problem of plastic
waste such as turning our used plastic drinking bottles into eco-friendly building bricks.
Recycling the waste of the plastic by molding it into brick help reduce waste and pollution. Local
government taking initiative on reducing the waste pollutant from other industries can lead to
development. The PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material the bottles (and bricks) are made
from is as strong as a conventional house brick made from sand and cement.

Hence, the researchers decided to conduct the study of comparing the quality of two
different bricks which is made of an ash fall and the other one is made of plastics. The
fundamental reason for this proposal is to analyze and compare the quality of Taal volcanic ash
bricks and plastic bricks that are made from Biñan Cty. This research is designed to have a
thorough knowledge of comparing the two types of bricks in terms of their quality. Bricks are
generally used for construction of load bearing masonry walls, columns and footings. Thus, it is
important to know the compressive strength of bricks to check for its suitability for construction.
This research is intended to determine the load carrying capacity of bricks under seven test that
can be perform.

Barangay Zapote, Biñan City, Laguna Province; website: www.pup.edu.ph e-mail: binan@pup.edu.phDirect line (049) 5135034

“THE COUNTRY’S 1st POLYTECHNICU”

Republic of the Philippines
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Office of the Vice President for Branches and Campuses
BIÑAN CAMPUS
This project is a big trend in the Philippines where a simple volcanic ash was used as a material
in making a bricks. An overview of properties of ash bricks and plastic bricks is contained in
Chapter 2; a brief synopsis of each follows:

Plastics have a biggest contribution on the waste we had on earth. In order to decompose them
some countries made an innovation and one of them is transforming them into bricks. These
plastics bricks also underwent the same quality test to know its properties. According to a waste
carrier agency, the Expert Skip Hire (2018), these plastics bricks are lightweight and sturdy just
like a standard brick that makes them suitable for construction.

According to the study of Muyen, Barna and Hoque (2016), the compressive strength of a brick
is considerable and can be used as a substitute for a concrete blocks in low cost reduction. On the
contrary, the study from Peter Lewis a New Zealand based inventor, has been following a similar
process with a company called ByFusion that One of the drawbacks of these type of bricks is that
they can't be used like standard bricks because the plastic compresses under heavy structural
loads(Expert Skip Hire, 2018).

One way to compare and see the future data is to use a method without using a machine or
equipment where there are specific properties are going to test. This proposal will give a great
impact to the government because idea of turning the ashes and plastics into something useful
have multiple benefits. This will convert the hazardous ashes and the hazardous chemicals
coming from the plastic wastes into bricks, preventing it from spoiling the environment. It
reduces the usage of bricks made from top soil, and saves trees too, since the mud bricks are
solidified by burning with wood.

Barangay Zapote, Biñan City, Laguna Province; website: www.pup.edu.ph e-mail: binan@pup.edu.phDirect line (049) 5135034

“THE COUNTRY’S 1st POLYTECHNICU”