Bokashi: Another Composting Option for Lazy Folks

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Bokashi is an ancient Japanese, two step method of composting organic waste. The first step is placing waste in an airtight bucket and allowing it to ferment with the help of a microbial starter. The second step is burying the fermented waste into the ground to create healthy soil.

Blogger Jenny is all about bokashi! Image via Bokashi Composting HQ

Embraced by permaculture enthusiasts, bokashi differs from other composting methods. One big difference is animal waste (dairy and meat) can be composted alongside plant waste. You can even compost pet waste with bokashi! Waste takes less time compost with bokashi. It's also unique because the alcohol smell of the fermented waste deters pests like rats and flies. There is minimal labor required. Once you've buried your trench of waste, you never need to turn it or do anything else.

You can start your own at home bokashi compost project with this great bokashi resource guide from The Compost Guy. You can purchase an entire Bokashi system kit via Amazon. Fermented starter can be purchased via my friend DeeDee at MoS Collective.

Bokashi seems so easy! I am totally going to give it a go once my CSA share pick-up ends in November and I can no longer drop off my scraps for composting as part of my weekly routine.

NYC residents and small businesses have the option of signing up for Vokashi, a Brooklyn-based composting service. Vokashi provides members with savvy green air tight buckets and a supply of ferment starter for $40-$60 a month. They also pick up the buckets once they are full. (Yay!) Vokashi then uses the waste to improve the soil in community gardens and other public green spaces.

Random fact: The liquid created by bokashi fermentation process can be used to clean drains!

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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