Composting
Composting food scraps means less waste to landfill and provides food for your garden and soil. Food scraps in the landfill do not break down anaerobically and create methane gas.
There are three main ways to compost.
Regular Composting
Regular composting consists of kitchen scraps that are mixed with garden cuttings and raked leaves or pea-straw. A key to success is getting the right proportions of green (high nitrogen) and brown (low nitrogen, higher carbon) ingredients. Dunedin City Council has leaflets available about making compost.
Link to the Composting brochure for more information (PDF opens in a new window)
Worm Farming
Worm farms effectively decompose some household food scraps and turn them into both concentrated liquid and wormcast fertilizer for the garden. They use a special type of compost or 'tiger' worm. You can even make a worm farm from waste items: two old tyres stuffed with wet newspaper, placed on a sloping board, plus a car hub cap lid wrapped in plastic. Dunedin City Council has leaflets available about worm farms.
Bokashi Compost-Zing
Another way to handle kitchen scraps is to ferment them using EM Bokashi in a double bucket with a lid. The effective micro-organisms (EM), which is available ready-mixed, process the waste without smells rapidly, ready for burial in garden trenches.
The Compost-Zing ferments the bucket's content. It is easy to use, has little to no odour and can be used for almost all food wastes - just avoid liquids like milk and juice. It is an anaerobic system and comes with a tight-fitting lid, so it's suitable for schools, offices, staff areas and, of course, households.
Each bucket comes with explanations to ensure your bokashi is successful! See the Bokashi Website (opens in a new window) for more information.
You can also buy Bokashi buckets and Compost-Zing from us:
- One 15-litre bucket and one bag of Compost-Zing costs $36.00
- One 10-litre bucket and one bag of Compost-Zing costs $33.00
- Compost-Zing costs $6.00 per bag
Last reviewed: 25 Sep 2008 2:26pm
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