Sakai, a concrete engineer specializing in its recycling, believes the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted every year can become a sustainable resource for many materials... Kota adapted the heat pressing method, using lower temperatures (between 50 and 150 degrees Celsius), to produce materials four times stronger than concrete. "It holds its original smell," said Sakai. "You can smell orange if you make samples from oranges." The material is nontoxic, and while it's safe to consume, "it's rather crunchy," jokes the professor.