Real recycling made easy - New bucket system deals to kitchen food scraps
Homeowners are being invited to take part in a new effort to reduce the
amount of kitchen scraps they throw away every week in their black bags. The secret is a bucket of microbe bugs in their kitchen using EM Bokashi
— a product made from grain husks which have been fermented with effective
micro-organisms (EM). Layers of food scraps are mixed with handfuls of EM Bokashi and squashed
together. They are squashed because the EM bokashi works best without
air. The moisture in the food scraps activates the micro-organisms which then
ferment the kitchen organics quickly and with very little smell. The strongest
odour is a kind of a pickling-type smell. Once the bucket is full the contents are left to ferment for 10 to 14
days before being buried in the garden. People who have tried the system are surprised that, after 10 days fermenting,
the kitchen scraps look no different. Although they expected it to break
down, it looks basically the same as when they put it into the bucket. Once mixed with garden soil and buried, the fermented scraps break down
completely within two to three weeks. Garden worms love it. An EM Bucket Composting System costs $14 and is available from most Service
Centres and the landscaping yards at the Parkhouse and Bromley Refuse
Stations. To find out more, contact Gill or Chris at Garden City Composting,
ph 941 7516 or 941 7512. Other services include tours of the Bromley Refuse
Station and Composting site, Waste Water and Treatment Works, Landfill
and Water Pumping Stations. Tours are available Monday to Friday for groups
of at least 10 people. Certain conditions apply. For information about
tours, phone Chris on 941 7512. |