What is the problem with food waste?
Food waste, organic waste, food scraps, green waste, compostables…. whatever you call it, the public, the food industry and the government have all become much more aware of the problem of throwing away food over recent years.
Approximately a third of our waste is compostable. Rotting food in our landfills is the second largest source of methane emissions produced by people. Unsurprisingly, pressure is mounting for effective solutions to remove these organics from the landfill. Locally this has come in the guise of the 2015 Food Scraps Ban across Metro Vancouver and CVRD. Many countries and regions have similar programs in place, providing organic and food scraps collection or drop-off points for residents. These programs focus on separating green waste and taking it to a large industrial scale composting facility for processing.
But are we missing the point? What if you don’t have a regular garbage (and organic) collection? Maybe you don’t want to see more pick-up vehicles on our roads. What if you want to hold on to the value in your food scraps? Shouldn’t we be encouraging everyone to compost at home and enhance their own soils to promote home grown food?
How can Bokashi Composting help solve our organic waste problems?
Composting at home has many benefits; firstly, it prevents the need for extra pick-up vehicles, secondly, it helps people produce compost where it is needed (at home) and finally, it encourages people to grow their own food. However, many people have concerns that home composting is hard work, smelly and will attract endless pests to their garden. But bokashi composting is different.
Bokashi composting uses bokashi bran to pickle (or ferment) food scraps. This fermentation changes the chemical and biological structure of the food scraps. Fermented food waste (pre-compost) breaks down within just 2 weeks of being buried directly in the garden or compost pile. The entire bokashi composting process will transform your food waste into nutrient rich compost in just 4-6 weeks.
Composting with bokashi, compared to traditional composting, is faster, easier, and more enjoyable. It doesn’t smell, it works with ALL food waste (meat, dairy, cooked foods included), and pests aren’t attracted to it when it’s used properly. Bokashi composting is an economical solution for composting at home and tackling the current organic waste problem.
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I have a bokashi bin and it smells awful! What am I doing wrong? Can I use the liquid for fertilizing the veg garden? Is it ph neutral? Sorry about so many questions!
Thanks in advance
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the questions 🙂 The bokashi bucket should have a sweet, pickly smell. It can smell fairly strong but should not smell rotten or putrid. If it does have a rotting smell, then it is a sign that something has gone wrong with the bokashi bucket. You may be able to recover it by adding a generous couple of handfuls of bokashi bran and mixing well. Take a look at this post for common causes of failed buckets. https://bokashiliving.com/troubleshooting-what-to-do-if-you-bokashi-bin-goes-bad/
The liquid from the bokashi composter (bokashi tea) is a great addition to your plants and garden. The tea is acidic and needs to be diluted at least 1:100 before adding the your soil.
Happy composting 🙂
Hi
I am looking to use bokashicomposting like the way you say but I am producing a large amount of food scrap in my complex and cannot use facilities you are introducing. Also, this makes too much payment for me, but I have a backyard near my restaurant.
Would you please tell me what can I do for this problem.
At your best regard
Ali Sadr
The backyard near your restaurant would be ideal for burying your bokashi pre-compost. Also, if any of your customers are gardeners they may be interested in the bokashi pre-compost for their own gardens.
Our bokashi buckets are custom made with high quality lids and spigots and come with a complete 1 year warranty. These bins are built to last! Each bag of bokashi bran lasts the typical household 2-3 months (which works out at less than $5 USD per month for the bran). Depending on the amount of food waste your restaurant produces, you will likely use more bokashi bran than the average household. We also sell our bran in 10kg bulk, which is by far our most cost effective option. Alternatively, you could use our Effective Microorganisms to make your own bokashi bran.