Scientists turn leftover vegetables into building materials

Mashed cabbage leaves, seaweed and banana peels may not sound appealing, but they can be part of the recipe for sustainable building products.

Building materials are made from plants (Image: CNET) A research team at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Sciences has found a way to create durable, strong building materials that are still edible. These materials are very special as they are made from plants. Mashed cabbage leaves, seaweed and banana peels may not sound appealing, but they can be part of a recipe for sustainable building products. “Our goal is to use seaweed and leftovers to create sustainable building materials,” says Yuya Sakai, a sustainable building materials expert and lead author of an upcoming study on the material. building materials are at least as strong as concrete. But since we are using edible food waste, we were also interested in determining whether the recycling process affects the taste of the starting material.” The team tried a heat pressing technique commonly used to compress wood pulp into building materials. Instead of wood, they are vacuum-dried and then ground into a variety of foods and leftovers, including onion and fruit peels, as well as cabbage. “The processing technique involves mixing food powder with water and spices, then pressing the mixture into a mold at high temperature.” All the products obtained, except for the pumpkin peel, passed the group’s strength and endurance tests. Researchers have found a solution to the pumpkin problem. “We also discovered that Chinese cabbage leaves, which can be made into a material three times stronger than concrete, can be mixed with the material,” said Kota Machida, a collaborator on the project. made from pumpkin to enhance the effect”. The materials are still edible, although the team did not say whether they would be difficult to chew. Even exposing the material to air for four months does not change the taste and there are no problems with insects or rotting. The development of building materials from crushed food is still in the early stages, but perhaps one day you can build a place to live and then use it for food when it is no longer needed.