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Composting, worm farming and bokashi fermentation are the 3 most popular ways to recycle your food scraps into healthy soil and fertiliser. Choose which suits you best depending on your household and garden situation.
Compost works by aerobic decomposition (breaks down with air) which creates heat. It needs garden waste as well as food scraps.
Composting suits if you:
- have garden waste (50/50 food scraps & garden waste).
- have space on bare earth to put the compost bin.
The benefits are:
- you can add a greater variety of food and other materials than in a wormfarm including garlic, onion and citrus.
- you can recycle your garden waste.
- you can add larger volumes of materials.
- you get rich compost for your garden and pot plants.
Wormfarming works by worms and other micro-organisms eating food scraps. No garden waste needed.
Wormfarming suits if you:
- don't have any garden materials to get rid of.
- don't have access to any bare earth.
- have a small household or you don’t produce a lot of food scraps.
The benefits are:
- you can collect the liquid and solid fertilisers from your wormfarm.
- you can keep your wormfarm in a courtyard, on a balcony or even inside.
- you don’t need to add garden materials.
Bokashi uses anaerobic bacteria to ferment food waste, including meat, dairy, bread, and small bones, into a readily decomposable form in a sealed bin, minimising insects and odour.
Bokashi suits if you:
- have somewhere to bury the fermented semi-solid matter (patch or large pot of soil, compost bin, or community garden)
- would also like to compost meat, dairy, bread, and small bones
The benefits are:
- it's compact and sealed, so can be used indoors or outdoors
- it can handle meat, dairy, bread, small bones, citrus, onion, and most other food scraps
- it produces nitrogen-rich liquid and semi-solid fertiliser that, when diluted, are great for a garden and pot plants
