Is it possible? Well I am willing give it a try.
Did you know that one in 5 shopping bags end up in the bin? That's $3,800 per household per year! Also, 38% of rubbish in NSW garbage bins is food waste! Yikes. Those statistics are frightening especially considering 1 in 9 people don't have enough food to eat. Essentially there is enough food to go around but a large percentage of it goes wasted. Growing this amount of food depletes soils, uses water and emits methane when added to landfill (methane is a gas 28x more powerful than CO2).
I know I am guilty of buying too much food when I find it's on the turn in the fridge. I'm working on being less excessive (there is that lifestyle word again). One solution is to compost what we don't use and return the goodness back to the earth to benefit the growth of other fruit and vegetables. A bit like a natural ecosystem - for example trees in a forest lose their leaves. These fall directly under the canopy of the tree and upon breaking down return nutrients back into the soil for the benefit of those plants nearby (a closed cycle right?).
I have been gardening my vegetable patch for over 10 years now and have always composted in either the traditional method or via Bokashi. Why not take my composting habits on the road with me?
Given the limited space I decided to purchase a Bokashi Bin (Australian made https://www.urbancomposter.com.au/ ). Bokashi is ideal in that the bins are compact and not smelly - perfectly designed for small space like units, balconies and...caravans!!!
Bokashi is a process that converts food waste and organic matter into a soil amendment which adds nutrients and improves soil texture. It differs from traditional composting methods in several ways:
- The breakdown of the organic matter is assisted by a specialist bacteria (Lactobacilli) that ferments the matter (rather than decomposing).
- The fermented matter is fed directly to field or garden soil (without requiring time to mature in a compost bin).
- As a result, virtually all input carbon, energy and nutrients enter the soil food web, having been neither emitted in greenhouse gases and heat nor leached out (as opposed to standard compost methods).
I've attached a clamp to the rear of the caravan to store the bokashi when we are stationary. It will help to keep any smells out of the van (although I can assure you there is very little smell from these Bokashi Bins and only when you open the lid). The added bonus of the outdoor storage is it will save room in the van. However, I have put a clamp on it to ensure no native critters get inside at night.
I'm hoping to communicate with the locals wherever we stop for the night and find someone who composts. Hopefully they will accept my bin of goodness!
I am hopeful, and I know this will be a challenge. I'll be reporting the volume of food that I compost on the way. Follow the update at the bottom of the main page.
Â
Comentários