Food waste cement: A gingerbread house-style building option

By CHISATO TANAKA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — In the near future, edible houses may no longer be a fairy tale. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a technology that can turn scraps into “food cement” for construction and other uses. They say it’s the world’s first process for making cement entirely from food waste and the tensile strength of their product is nearly quadruple that of ordinary concrete. The researchers say an outer coating could fix one of the cement’s most serious shortcomings: a weakness to water and the likelihood it would be eaten by rodents and other pests. Food waste is a big problem in Japan. The researchers say their material can be reused and be composted when it’s no longer needed.