Urban Revolution is all about everyday choices we can make to reduce human damage on the Earth. In this article we're going to share with you why composting is the number one positive climate action you can take at home and the easiest way to get started!
The system we're going to tell you about doesn't require a backyard, is quick and easy, takes more inputs than any other composting system, and turns your waste into valuable resources.
In this image you can see Small Metal Compost Buckets sitting on top of our Bokashi Kitchen Compost Systems, with a small jar of the Bokashi Composting Bran and an old potato masher used with the system.
Why Is Composting Good For The Earth?
Composting food waste is one of the best actions we can take to lighten our impact on the Earth. Organic waste sent to landfill does not receive the right conditions to be able to break down and compost properly, resulting in it decomposing and releasing one of the most harmful greenhouse gases, methane, along with carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - a huge contributor to anthropogenic (man-made) climate change.
Composting organic waste not only prevents greenhouse gas emissions and returns the carbon to the Earth where it belongs, but also allows you to create your own nutrient-rich soil input - a valuable resource - for free! Adding composted organic waste to your garden also actually increases the carbon sequestering ability of your soil.
Image from DM Online
The Easiest Way To Start Composting In Any Home
If you haven't heard of the Bokashi Composting System, here's the rundown! This style of composting requires only a small kitchen-top bucket and some microbial bran. Yep, no backyard required! It is actually a fermentation process (i.e. we actually want an anaerobic environment for this process) using beneficial microbes that can handle more input types than any other composting system and turns your waste into an amazing microbe-rich soil conditioner and a liquid that can be used as a fertiliser or as a drain cleaner.
The Bokashi bucket is designed to sit on kitchen benches and be a super easy and manageable way to compost all kitchen scraps. Here is how to use the Bokashi Kitchen Compost System:
- Put almost ALL kitchen scraps into the Bokashi bucket.Unlike most composting systems, this one can handle all types of food waste. This includes fresh veggie scraps as well as cooked food, citrus, onions, coffee grinds, egg shells, dairy, meat, and even small bones. The only exceptions are large bones and lots of oil or liquid. Press each layer of waste down to remove air gaps in the bucket (an old potato masher can come in handy here).
- Sprinkle a covering of Bokashi Composting Bran over the top of every layer of scraps put in the bucket. An average layer depth estimate is 6-7 cm. The microbes in the bran are what ferment the organic matter and also mitigate odours.
- Once the bucket is full, leave it somewhere out of the way for a couple of weeks to allow for full fermentation.
- The system works best as a two-bin system; start filling up the second bucket while the first is finishing the composting process. Our Bokashi Starter Kit comes with everything you need.
- The end product will be a small amount of fermented matter plus the Bokashi juice liquid which are both full of diverse nutrients and alive with micro-organisms! Bury the solid matter in your garden, in pots, or give away as valuable fertiliser for it to complete the composting process. Use the Bokashi juice as a drain cleaner or dilute into an amazing fertiliser.
- Rinse the empty Bokashi bucket and it's ready to go again!
The Bokashi Microbes and The Free Fertiliser You're Creating For Healthy Soil
The Bokashi Composting Bran that you sprinkle over your food scraps in the Bokashi bin is made here in Australia and is full of beneficial micro-organisms that exist freely in nature. The dry ingredients you can see in the mix are actually carriers for the beneficial microbes which are dormant in the dried bran and become active when added to your waste.
These living organisms ferment your food waste without it putrefying inside the Bokashi bucket and also accelerate the breakdown of the waste when later buried in soil. For those who are interested, this means that these microbes can work both anaerobically (without air like inside the Bokashi bucket) and aerobically (when the waste is added to soil later).
The microbes also secrete beneficial substances such as antioxidants, vitamins, organic acids and chelated minerals which, when buried with the waste in the garden, build a healthier, stronger and more disease-resistant soil. All of these goodies are also concentrated in the Bokashi juice that's drained from the bucket which is what makes it such a great liquid fertiliser when diluted.
By composting your food waste using the Bokashi system, you're not only diverting waste from landfill and reducing greenhouse gas emissions but you're also producing your own incredibly valuable, soil-enriching fertiliser for free. Through adding microbes to your soil as opposed to synthetic fertilisers, you are enhancing the soil’s structure which promotes root growth for your plants, retains more moisture and nutrients which promotes a healthier, happier garden, and encourages the presence of soil organisms such as worms.
Get Started With Bokashi Composting
Make the best choice for the Earth and significantly reduce your carbon footprint by composting your kitchen scraps. Our Bokashi buckets and Bokashi Mix are available in our Perth and online eco & garden store, or choose our Starter Kit which comes with everything you need for a full system!
Our Bokashi Starter Kit comes with two buckets and two 1kg bags of the Bokashi Mix microbial bran which would generally last you at least three full Bokashi buckets of composting. If you're local and need to top-up your Bokashi Mix supply, we usually offer a waste-free fill-your-own-container option in our Vic Park store, though this is temporarily unavailable while the COVID-19 precautions are in place. You can always order more 1kg bags of Bokshi Mix online. For all online orders, we are currently offering non-contact pickups at our Perth store and our usual Australia-wide shipping.
Composting your organic waste really is one of the best things you could do for the Earth and is the way the world is moving. The Bokashi System is such an easy, low-effort method for anyone to use which is why we love it.
Ask our knowledgeable team for tips or advice any time. We hope to see you soon!
If you'd like to learn about other methods of composting, we are soon to release a free Beginner's Guide To Composting for our online community. Make sure you're subscribed here.
Further Reading
- Article on How Composting Helps Reverse Climate Change.
- Article on Organic, Biodynamic and Regenerative Agriculture.
- Article on All You Need To Know About 'Certified Organic'.
- Podcast by Plant Proof: Regenerative agriculture with Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace.
Bokashi Items we stock:
- Bokashi One Composting System - Single Bucket
- Bokashi One Composting System - Starter Kit
- Bokashi One Composting System - Replacement Tap
- Bokashi One Composting System - Replacement Lid
- Bokashi One Composting System - Replacement Grate
- Bokashi One Composting Mix - 4kg
- Bokashi One Composting Mix - 1kg
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