Six Equipment Items to Pickle (Bokashi) and Compost Food Scraps

At Pickled we want to make composting inclusive, convenient and cost effective.  To start with we've come up with six basic equipment items to help pickle or 'bokashi' food scraps.  
The good news is you don't have to buy these items brand new, as nearly all of these can be sourced second hand or up-cycled.  

Airtight buckets.  

At least 2x buckets with lids that seal airtight are required. You can use food grade plastic buckets (or paint buckets) between 10 litres - 30 litres (check out the Pickled Compost Starter Kit Buckets - 10L or 20L available); or invest in purpose-built bokashi bins. Having more than one bucket means once your first bucket is full, another bucket can be started straight away.

Cardboard OR wood chip mulch. 

Layer the bottom of your bucket with ripped up cardboard OR use wood chip arborist mulch to absorb liquid from the pickling process.

Food scrap kitchen caddy. 

Scraping food scraps into a small container or a small 5L bucket (kitchen caddy) means you don't have to open your bokashi or 'pickling' system more than once a day. This could simply be a tupperware or ice cream container that sits on your kitchen bench or under the sink.

Potato masher or kitchen caddy lid. 

Not absolutely necessary to have a separate potato masher but you do need something with a flat surface to squash food scraps down to remove air pockets to enable your scraps to pickle i.e. the lid of your kitchen caddy (if small enough) could be used.

Pickled Composting Flakes. 

Absolutely necessary to have (lol)!

Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of flakes evenly on your scraps to kick start or ramp up the pickling process. Make sure to double this amount if adding high protein rich foods (i.e. meat/fish/dairy) that break down more slowly.

Soil Factory Or Outdoor compost bin. 

Once your food scraps have finished pickling (10-14 days) you need to empty these into soil (or feed to animals such as pigs / chickens).

If you don't have a garden or space to bury the pickled scraps - using a 'soil factory' or an outdoor compost bin is an option to break down the scraps completely.  If there is no room for an outdoor compost bin where you live, join ShareWaste (or sign up to the Compost Collective as ShareWaste ends Dec 31st 2024) to locate a compost host to drop-off your food scraps for free. 

For more ideas including how to create a 'soil factory' that can sit on a balcony click here.

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