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Composting is the natural process of decomposition of organic materials such as food scraps in the absence of oxygen to break down into fertile material. It is a great way to convert kitchen food scraps into usable compost for urban gardening and landscaping purposes.
Kitchen composting is an urban gardening trend that's growing in popularity. It involves collecting your food scraps and kitchen waste, putting them into a compost bin or a composting bucket and letting them break down into nutrient-rich soil. It's useful for urban gardening, but it helps reduce the amount of urban waste going to landfills.
What is Bokashi composting?
Bokashi composting is an eco-friendly composting system. Bokashi is the cultivation of bacillus Bokashi, which decompose kitchen waste to improve nutrient productivity. Using Bokashi bran on top of the food in the bucket will assist in quick decomposition and fermenting of kitchen waste.
Composting is the means of recycling natural resources. Bokashi bacillus decomposes kitchen waste such as vegetable peels, paper packaging, food scraps, tea bags etc. and is beneficial for plants, flowers and vegetables to thrive.
Why recycle kitchen waste with Bokashi?
The beauty of Bokashi is that it was created with urban and suburban living in mind.
Food is poured into a Bokashi bucket, and inoculated bran is sprinkled on top before the lid is sealed. A fertilising liquid is drained from the bottom of the bucket's tap in a short amount of time. This liquid can be diluted and used as a plant tonic with microbes. When the bin is full, take it outdoors and bury or add the waste to your external compost bin. The bacteria are incredibly efficient in breaking down and fermenting waste materials.
Waste that is buried in the soil attracts worms quickly. Bokashi trash, when placed in an external compost heap, can typically speed up the composting process. Bio-Char can be made by mixing it with charcoal. The Bokashi bucket and bran can be found at most hardware and gardening stores for the busy suburbanite or purchased online. However, you may create your own bucket, and many designs are accessible online.
Kitchen waste recycling
Each year we waste around 7.3 million tonnes of food – this wastage equals about 300kg per person or one in five bags of groceries.
It is not necessary to put it in the trash and dispose of it at the landfill. There are perfect ways to recycle it as compost at home.
Many things go into the "kitchen waste" category. For example, carrots, onions, cabbage and leafy greens have many nutrients and fibre, but most of it is lost when these vegetables are thrown into the trash.
The easiest way to prevent this loss of nutrients is to reduce the amount you put in the trash by saving them in a compost bucket or a separate vegetable basket. Bokashi composting makes it easy to recycle even difficult-to-recycle items such as tea bags, melon rind, and bread.
Over 90% of kitchen waste ends up in the landfill, and it doesn't have to be that way; for a small investment, you can also start recycling your kitchen waste and turn it into a rich fertiliser for your garden and pot plants.
Tips on reducing kitchen waste
Rather than buying things in packages, buy them in bulk and cut down on the amount of plastic waste in landfills.
Instead of buying cereal and dry products in boxes, buy them in bags. Look for foods that come in bags rather than boxes if you don't have access to bulk items or like more traditional cold packaged foods. These usually have a lot less packaging, which saves both trash and energy.
Instead of buying new hand and dish soap containers, refill them.
Replace plastic dish brushes with wooden ones.
Plan your meals, write a shopping list and stick to it. If you only purchase what you need for the planned meals, reducing kitchen waste will happen.
Support local farmers by purchasing seasonal produce lowers food miles and, as a result, reduces carbon emissions.
Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item we will be paid a small commission, however you are not impacted by this. It helps with the running costs of this site, thank you. The author uses the Bokashi compost system herself and recommends because it works and reduces our carbon footprint.