Bokashi and other food waste recycling methods

Recycle your food waste for valuable compost and mulch for your garden, while living more sustainably. There are other food waste recycling methods, apart from compost and worm farming including:

the fermentation system known as 'bokashi'
trench composting
no-dig gardening, and
bio-recycling.

Fermentation system (bokashi or indoor composter)

This system uses a specially designed bucket and a formulated mixture. It is able to process all food scraps including meat and bread, as well as fruit and vegetable scraps. 'Bokashi' is a Japanese word meaning 'to ferment'. Waste added to the bokashi bin will not putrefy when you add bokashi mixture and keep out the air. You then bury it in the garden or place it in a compost bin. As the material is already fermented it will break down extremely quickly.

You can purchase bokashi buckets online or at hardware or garden shops. Alternatively, you can make one at home with two equal-sized buckets placed one inside the other. Drill holes in the bottom of the top bucket to allow the liquid to drain through. Add a tap to the bottom bucket to remove the liquid as required. Place a tight-fitting lid on the top bucket.

In addition to the bucket, you will also need to purchase bokashi mixture to add to the bin daily. This comes either in the form of a spray or flakes and is sold online or at hardware stores and nurseries. The mixture is a special formulation of effective microorganisms that create the right environment inside the bucket.

How to use the bokashi system

Add food scraps to the bokashi bucket.
Cover the scraps with a handful of bokashi mixture. This allows it to ferment without rotting.
Use a potato masher or similar to push down the contents to minimise air exposure.
Close the lid tightly.
Once or twice a week drain the liquid from the bottom of the bucket. You can use this liquid as a fertiliser. Mix with water in a ratio of approximately one teaspoon of bokashi to two or three litres of water. Alternatively, use undiluted to clean household drains.
Keep adding food scraps and bokashi mix until the bucket is full. For an average family, this will take approximately three to four weeks.
Leave the bucket for 10 to 14 days for the contents to ferment. Continue to drain off liquid regularly. After this time you will notice that food appears pickled and smells vinegary. It may also occasionally have a white fungi growth, which is normal.
You can bury contents in a hole in the garden or add to a compost bin or take to your closest community compost hub. As material is already fermented, it will break down within two to three weeks.

Bokashi bin ingredients

What can go in a bokashi bin:

fresh fruit and vegetables
cooked foods
meat and fish
cheese
eggs
bread
coffee grinds and tea leaves
wilted flowers
tissues.

Avoid these ingredients:

liquids (e.g. milk, juice)
paper
plastic
large bones.

Watch our video tutorial

Watch our tutorial:

Bokashi, fermentation systems and indoor composters.

This video tutorial is 3 minutes and 47 seconds long and covers bokashi, fermentation systems and indoor composters, including features of a bokashi bucket, bokashi mix basics, how to use a bokashi system, and troubleshooting tips.

Trench composting

This method is simply burying your scraps in the garden to decompose into the soil which feeds the plants and provide food for worms. Avoid burying meat, pasta, rice or bread to prevent attracting rats.

Dig a trench or hole approximately 25cms deep into the garden.
Add fruit and vegetable scraps, cover over with soil and allow the waste to break down. Add a strip of wire netting over scraps before covering with soil to discourage creatures such as dogs or rodents from digging them up.

No-dig gardening

Carbon and nitrogen-rich materials are layered directly onto the soil to create a raised garden for planting. You can include limited amounts of food scraps in the nitrogen-rich material. The most common materials for no-dig gardens are lucerne straw, manure, compost, paper and grass clippings. Build in layers up to a minimum depth of 30cm. You can then put your plants and seeds into pockets of compost or potting mix within the material. The materials will gradually break down and provide a rich growing medium for the plants to spread their roots into. Continually top up the garden with more carbon and nitrogen materials as the garden sinks down over time.

Bio-recycling

Pets such as chickens, guinea pigs and dogs can play a key role in reducing your household's food waste output.

Chickens are one of the most popular and efficient of all bio-recycling household pets. Each month, a chicken will consume approximately its own body weight in feed and kitchen scraps. Chicken manure is one of the richest of all animal manures, containing high levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

It's important to consider the dietary needs of your bio-recycling pet/s. This will ensure they receive adequate nutrition and their digestive systems remain healthy. It's best to seek advice from your vet before changing the diet of your pet or see the RSPCAs knowledge base.

Find out more about keeping chickens and poultry in Brisbane.

Compost rebate program

Council is making purchasing your food waste recycling system easier with our compost rebate program.