A group of students in the Philippines are turning dog waste into fully-functioning “bio-bricks.” Eighth graders in a Manilla secondary school came up with the idea to use dog poop found on the city’s streets and transform it into a mixture for bricks for a school project. They gather and mix sun-dried feces with cement powder to form eco-friendly bricks for construction purposes. “The manure of dogs is the biggest problem here in our community, compared to those of cows and cats because we don't usually see cows around our community,” said Wynlyn Mendoza of Payatas High School. The students hope that the bricks can help the community in a number of ways—like waste removal, environmentally-friendly products, and creating jobs for people in the city. Each brick will contain equal parts dog waste and cement, around .3 ounces, and are durable enough for sidewalks or even walls. “We did not really look for the characteristics needed to make a brick stronger,” said student Stephanie Elmido. “What we focused on solving was the problem of communities. So when we tried using the dog manure as an additive to these bricks, we were surprised with the result because it turned out stronger than hollow blocks (concrete bricks used for construction) compared to these based on the compression test we commissioned" In Manila, the overpopulation of stray dogs has been an issue that many local nonprofits have tried to curve. The students also added that the creation of the bricks isn’t as awful smelling as the dog waste itself—they said with the mixture of cement, the smell is less severe.