Texas Builder Builds Homes With Trash

One man's trash is another's multi-bedroom home. Dan Phillips, a Huntsville, Texas, builder takes trash-turning wood scraps, old wine corks and beer bottle tops into flooring at times-and builds homes for single parents, low-income families and artists for as little as $10,000. "People have been doing this for hundreds of thousands of years: using whatever is available to build shelter," Phillips told the Associated Press. "If you ponder what could be used, then building materials are everywhere." Phillips' building palette also includes countertops, license plates and even mirror shards; he receives material donations from individuals and larger building companies who avoid disposal fees by sending him truckloads of lumber, granite and tile. In addition, Phillips' building company, Phoenix Commotion, has a humanistic mission. Phillips hires unskilled workers and teaches the marketable skills, eventually helping to place them in a higher-paying job when they're ready to move on.