Taal Volcano: Philippine city turns ash into bricks to aid rebuilding efforts

A Philippine city shrouded in ash from the nearby Taal Volcano has turned adversity into an opportunity to help neighbouring towns hit by the natural disaster.The mayor of Biñan, in the neighbouring province of Laguna, has ordered residents to collect ash blanketing homes, cars and roads and put it in sacks to be sent to a state-owned factory and turned into bricks.“When the ash came, we thought we’d exchange the white sand which we mix with plastics to be converted into bricks with ash. We did…