SWITZERLAND — Across the global timber industry, vast quantities of sawdust are generated as a byproduct of processing wood. …Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method to transform this overlooked waste into durable, fire-resistant panels. By combining compressed sawdust with a mineral-based binder, the team has created a material suitable for interior walls and partitions. At the core of this new material is struvite, a mineral more commonly associated with wastewater treatment facilities than construction sites. While it is typically known for clogging pipes, struvite also possesses inherent fire-resistant properties. Its use, however, is far from straightforward: the mineral is highly brittle on its own, and achieving a uniform blend with wood particles presents a significant technical hurdle. ETH Zurich addressed this by using an enzyme derived from watermelon seeds to control how struvite crystals form and bind, resulting in a more stable material.