How to use EM for food waste recycling

Do you compost? Here is a way to increase the amount of materials you can recycle:

Using EM-1/EM-A and EM-Bokashi you can recycle, or pickle, food waste to make a valuable fertilizer for your gardens or potted plants. This is done by inoculating food waste in an airtight bag or bucket with a dried material known as EM-Bokashi. EM-Bokashi is fermented organic material made from EM-1, molasses, water, and an organic (high carbon) material such as rice or wheat bran. The EM-Bokashi will ferment the food waste, preventing it from rotting, and therefore eliminate odour or the attraction to flies. EM-Bokashi can be bought in our onlineshop.

We sell a specially-designed bucket from Bokashi NZ Ltd that is made specifically for food waste recycling using the EM-Bokashi method.

When the bucket is full, it is left for at least one week to ferment (pickle) the food waste inside. The fermentation results in breaking lignin (fibers) in the food waste so the materials inside the buckets break down within two weeks after buried in the ground or incorporated into an existing composting pile. Please note that materials inside the bucket will not break down in the bucket. The fermentation is a stabilizing or preserving method during which vitamins, amino acids, and antioxidants are increased that will then be excellent nutrient sources for plants.

EM Bokashi method:

EM-Bokashi is the end product from the composting and fermentation of various biogenic wastes with the help of Effective Microorganisms. EM-Bokashi, as EM fermented compost is known, matures in anaerobic fashion, which means that it may no be ventilated.

This provides two major advantages:

1. Cost savings:

Frequent turning during composting is no longer required, which reduces work, machine use and fuel consumption.

2. Nutrients:

The nutrients, particularly nitrogen, are retained by the EM-Bokashi and do not escape into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases. The nitrogen is largely organically bound in, i.e. less is mineralised, which reduces leaching into ground water.

During composting/fermentation using EM technology, the structure of the material is largely retained and therefore, grass and bush clippings should be chopped as small as possible. The more varied the mixture, the better the end product. In the course of anaerobic fermentation, metabolic products such as vitamins, enzymes and bio active substances are created, leading to a high nutritional value and the stimulation of optimum plant growth.

• Bokashi is a japanese term and means „fermented organic matter“
• Bokashi is made from Effective Microorganisms (EM), molasses and plant based material like sawdust, ricebran or wheatbran (100% natural)
• Bokashi turns kitchen scraps and leftovers into a rich, nutritious soil conditioner within only 4 weeks!

What are the benefits of using Bokashi?

• No smell or bad odour as the food ferments
• Decreased composting time – up to 50% quicker
• No insects, mice or rats
• Increased growing power
• Healthier plants
• Better plant growth and yield
• No more daily trips to the compost bin
• Free liquid fertilizer every week
• And of course you’re helping to preserve the environment!

What you can compost:

• Fresh fruits & vegetables
• Prepared foods and leftovers
• Cooked or uncooked meats & fish
• Cheese, eggs and eggshells
• Bones - chopped into small pieces
• Coffee grinds or teabags
• Dry leaves and wilted flowers

How to make Bokashi Compost:

1. Place your Bokashi bucket handy to where you prepare your food and out of direct sunlight.
2. Start by sprinkling a small handful of bokashi into the bucket.
3. Save up your day’s kitchen scraps in a container and once a day, add it all to the Bokashi bucket. Cutting up larger items into golfball sized pieces speeds things up. Don’t put rotten food in the Bokashi bucket – it can make a whole batch smell bad.
4. Press down with a masher or old jar to reduce air pockets and roughly level the waste.
5. Sprinkle Bokashi on the levelled layer of waste (a small handful to ½ cup, depending on how much food you’re adding). Use more Bokashi in hotter weather or when adding lots of meat, fish, cheese or egg.
6. Carefully reseal the lid, making sure the container is airtight.
7. Once or twice a week, drain the liquid from the bucket. The juice should be used within 24 hours, either diluted by 1:500 for liquid fertiliser or poured down the drain or toilet (undiluted) as a cleaner.
8. Repeat the process until the bucket is full.
9. Dig a hole/trench approximately 20-25 cm deep, add the fermented material and mix with some soil. Cover with the remaining soil. DON’T WATER IT or plant in it FOR AT LEAST A WEEK.
10. Rinse bucket with water only (not detergent which may kill the microbes), drain and repeat the process.

The signs of a successful fermentation:

• Smell should be similar to that of pickles or cider vinegar.
• A white mould may appear – this is OK and shows that a good fermentation process has occurred.
• There should be no foul odour.

The signs that something went wrong:

• Strong rancid or rotten smell.
• Black or bluegreen fungi, indicating that waste has putrefied

What do i do with the final product?

Existing gardens: Dig a hole/trench 20 – 30cm deep, add the fermented food waste and mix with some soil and cover with a 5 – 10cm layer of soil. Be sure the roots do not touch the compost directly as this would burn the roots (particulary if the roots are very young).

Trees: Dig deep holes 30 – 40cm deep at 60 cm intervals around the tree drip line. Bury the fermented food waste as before. The waste will supply your plants with a great food source and inoculate your soil with beneficial microbes for plant strength and grow.

Alternate method for existing compost bins:

1. Follow steps 1-8 above
2. Incorporate the materials from the bucket into your compost pile, covering with at least 20cm of compost materials
3. Turn the compost pile as you normally would. The materials from the bucket will boost the anaerobic bacteria in your compost and add valuable vitamins, antioxidants, and EM-Bokashi
4. Cover with 20cm of soil and do not plant in for at least two week