By: Yeeyao Wong

What do you do with food waste? You might throw it away. But researchers at the University of Tokyo have made another option: turning it into edible cement.

The researchers have found that some fruits and vegetables can be used to make the ‘cement’. Some are banana peel, onions, orange peel, and pumpkin. The researchers found that each of these foods makes a new material almost four times stronger than regular concrete.

The researchers in Japan also say that their cement can be eaten and turned back into food. All you have to do is break it up and cook it.

But how do you do make the cement?

To make the new cement, the researchers dry the food waste. Then they crush it into a powder. This powder can then be pressed into any shape you like. Then you get the new edible cement.

Researchers say that this new yummy option could also solve problems created by cement production and food waste.

According to the United Nations Environment Program’s Food Waste index, almost one billion tons of food is thrown away every year altogether. Not only is this taking up a lot of space in landfills, it is also also responsible for up to 1/10 of greenhouse gas emissions.

And unlike regular cement, this edible alternative is biodegradable. This means that it would take way less space in landfills compared to regular cement, which does not break down.

Whether you would take a bite of this yummy edible cement, it might take us down a new path to a better, more sustainable future.