Manila archdiocese says a project it introduced several years ago for a cleaner environment achieved “zero waste” by turning garbage into building material.

For six years, the archdiocese, with the help of “waste pickers,” converted trash from three Catholic institutions into construction material.

The garbage collected was mixed with sand and cement to make construction blocks to build its ecology ministry office in Caritas Manila’s compound.

The archdiocese also said the blocks were also used for improvements to the recycling facility, and the construction of a chapel and kiosks at San Carlos Seminary.

The archdiocese today marks the end of the recycling project at Manila Archdiocese’s Resource Recovery Facility in Tondo.

In a statement, the archdiocese said its Ministry on Ecology has encouraged and actively involved the urban poor, especially the homeless, unemployed and impoverished, “to gain dignity as humans.”

PM13944.1649