Pooch goes plastic free with Bokashi Composting
I never thought I'd get this enthusiastic about pet poop.
We've all heard that composting is a great way to not only feed the soil, but reduce food waste that would otherwise head to landfill (where it does not actually compost!).
Compost was a waste-free game changer for me. By starting a simple compost bin in my yard, I managed to divert at least half, if not more of what was going in my rubbish bin.
Since then I’ve managed to cut trash in many other ways - like bringing my own containers and bags, saying ‘no’ to things like straws and single-use items, and other simple shifts. But one thing was bugging me - I was still just bagging my dog Apple's poop and chucking it straight in the wheelie bin at home. You can't add animal waste to your regular kitchen-scraps compost, especially if you want to use it to grow food.
Apple the pup checks out the new addition EnsoPet system.
Then I found the Bokashi EnsoPet - a composting system just for pet waste. You dig a hole and bury most of the recycled plastic container in the ground, keeping it away from food crops, and sprinkle on a specially formulated bokashi mix every week to help break it down. That’s it!
I had a chat to Bokashi Australia founder Maree O’Malley, who brought the simple micro-organism style of composting to Australia in 2004.
"Almost as soon as I started using bokashi I became quite passionate about composting - I absolutely hate to see food waste added to rubbish," Maree said.
"I carry banana skins, apple cores - even other peoples' - around with me while out rather than adding them to a rubbish bin, so I can add them to my compost once home."
EnsoPet is the simple pet waste composting system by Bokashi Composting Australia
Though she's a passionate composter, Maree openly admits bokashi is not the only style of composting worth trying.
"I am not what you might call a natural born salesperson and I don’t hold the view that bokashi is necessarily the best composting system for everyone," Maree says.
"But I strongly believe it is an essential inclusion in the composting options available."
She ran me through the many benefits of this style, including:
No need to trudge out to the backyard compost bin - it can be done in the kitchen.
All organic kitchen waste can be put in there, including citrus peel, onions, dairy, meat and fish.
Little heat is generated, so there is no release of greenhouse gases (especially methane).
By fermentation (not oxidation) a higher nutrient value of the kitchen scraps is retained for feeding back into the soil.
As well as the nutrients from the food waste, bokashi compost adds life in the form of the micro-organisms.
So how does it work to bring pets along on the zero-waste journey?
EnsoPet kit: container made from recycled plastic, Bokashi mix and tongs
She may not consider herself a natural salesperson, but Maree is certainly entrepreneurial.
"I knew that bokashi was used in composting toilets, so I thought it was logical that it would compost pet waste too," Maree says.
"We were often asked by our customers if bokashi could be used for this purpose. So for a long time I had the idea of developing a composting system for pet waste."
Dig a 40cm x 40cm hole and bury the container away from food plants - easy!
"With the support of Bokashi New Zealand, we developed a mix of bokashi specifically for pet waste. It has a sawdust component and more of the microbes that what is in Bokashi One."
Learning from the original system, Bokashi One, Maree engaged an industrial designer to develop something pet waste and also shipping friendly.
I found it easy to put together, and had a good patch of garden to dig it into. Apple helped too, of course!
Now only the little lid sits out of the soil, and it's a matter of scoop and drop - with a bokashi mix sprinkle regularly.
Another simple shift!
- Ash
While I was gifted the Bokashi EnsoPet system, this post is an honest reflection of my experience. It is the best way I have found to get rid of pet waste so far!
Header image credit: Lis Harvey, NICO Underwear, from my NICO at Home shoot.
Happy Apple, happy Ash!