Bokashi composting
One of the first zero waste experiments we busy with is upgrading our composting systems. We have always composted our kitchen peels, skins, cores and ends, having visiting children get involved with the process in the garden for one of their sessions each week. We wanted to take out compost one step further, attempting to find a way that we can repurpose ALL edible food scraps that come out of our kitchen, as well as the plate scrapings from meal times in the dining room.
Bokashi is a Japanese word that means ‘fermented organic matter’ – and bokashi composting is the process that produces just this! By layering food waste in a sealed bucket with a sprinkle of a specific inoculated bran between each layer, we create the right environment to ferment the scraps before they are then used within a usual composting system or wormery. The process is anaerobic, meaning there needs to be as little air as possible - pressing it down tightly on each layer is as important as keeping the lid shut. The bokashi will also need draining every other day or so, so a tap at the bottom of the vessel is essential too. The ‘Effective Microorganisms’ (EMS) in the bran will be set to work right away and after about two weeks, will have created something that smells more pickled than gone off. There should be a white mould on top and an aroma that is more appetising than you’d imagine (any other colour or bad smell may indicate that something has gone wrong).
By using bokashi at the centre, we have been able to compost ALL of our food waste, including meats, dairy and cooked food. This has meant that nothing needs to be thrown in our landfill bin and we are now able to soak up and use all of the goodness from all of our edible kitchen scraps to nutrify our compost and feed the next generation of crops in our garden!
As for at home, bokashi is a very easy process to do given that you have space for a bucket somewhere near your kitchen. The bran can be purchased online or made, and the bin reused time and time again.
