Wormeries, bokashi and food waste digesters
Using a wormery, bokashi system or a food waste digester can be a great way to deal with your food waste. Unlike compost bins, they are designed so that most cooked foods can be processed safely and easily, unlike compost bins.
Wormeries in particular can be fun to use, but if you’re short of space, do think about how you’ll use the compost you produce. Don’t forget that nearly every household in Edinburgh has a food waste collection service and, in the case of wormeries, it can also take food the worms don’t like.
Wormeries
Wormeries are self-contained systems, that are used mainly to compost kitchen waste. Red wiggler tiger worms convert the waste into rich, dark compost. Due to their size, wormeries are not suitable for composting garden waste.
Best results are obtained from wormeries when materials such as vegetable peelings, tea leaves, coffee grounds, stale bread and food leftovers are used, along with a regular supply of shredded paper which provides the worms with shelter, aeration and bedding. Worms don’t like eating oily food, dairy products and citrus fruit peelings, so it’s best to avoid adding these.
Wormery kits and the worms themselves are widely available online. Larger wormeries can be kept on a balcony or in a porch, shed or garage. They can also be located outdoors in a sheltered place, but they will need some extra protection during cold periods to prevent the worms from freezing.
If you don’t have much space, smaller wormeries can be kept indoors. For example, the Original Wormery from Original Organics is the size of a bucket.
Bokashi system
A bokashi system is a really easy way to turn kitchen food waste including cooked and uncooked food, meat, fish, bones, dairy products, bread, pasta, fruit scraps and vegetable peelings into nutrient rich compost.
Kitchen waste is placed into an airtight container and sprinkled with a handful of bokashi. This is a bran based material made with a culture of friendly micro-organisms that begins to ferment the waste. After only two weeks the contents can be added to a compost bin or buried in the ground to finish the composting process.
Large quantities of micro-organisms are rapidly released to nourish the soil naturally. Bokashi systems come in packs of two so that you can leave one to ferment whilst you fill the other. As they have air-tight lids, even the smelliest food scraps can be composted indoors, without smells.
Food waste digester - Green cone
The green cone is a food waste digester that requires very little maintenance once installed. It can dispose of most types of kitchen food waste including cooked and uncooked food, meat, fish, bones, dairy products, bread, pasta, fruit scraps and vegetable peelings. The green cone cannot compost garden waste.
The green cone's design breaks food down into carbon dioxide and nutrient rich water that drains away into the soil. A small amount of residue is also produced but will only need to be removed once every few years.
The green cone must be placed in a sunny part of the garden in free draining soil. It is supplied in four parts including a lower basket which is buried in a hole in the ground. This basket then forms the base for an upper assembly consisting of a black inner cone and a green outer lidded plastic cone.
Food waste digester - Green Johanna
A Green Johanna produces compost from household food waste and organic garden material. The unit accepts all cooked and uncooked food waste, as well as organic garden material such as plants, leaves and grass cuttings.
Designed for a shady place in the garden, the Green Johanna’s ventilation system enables the contents to reach significantly higher temperatures than traditional garden composters, breaking down waste faster.