Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Urban cohousing communities -- do you compost?

[david bygott (davidbygott]

We have been using the "Bokashi" system for years and find it effective. All 
you need is a few airtight buckets (you can buy online "gamma-seal" twist-off 
lids that are easy to open and close and fit on any 5-gal bucket) and the EM 
(effective microorganism) culture, which also you can find online. There's no 
smell (unless your bucket leaks!) When we fill a bucket we set it aside for 3-4 
weeks to allow the anaerobic fermentation to progress, before digging it into 
the garden, so you need about 4-5 buckets to keep that rotation going. The 
process can handle just about any food scraps, including eggshells and chicken 
carcasses, but NOT plastics, and some items like large bones and avocado skins 
& pits don't decompose. Here's a starter link:
http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/03/bokashi-this-is-not-your-fathers-compost/

David Bygott
Milagro Cohousing

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:55:57 -0500
> From: "Dave Austin" <daustin [at] mindspring.com>
> Subject: [C-L]_ Urban cohousing communities -- do you compost?
> To: <cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org>
> 
> Hi to all --  but especially to urban (apartment) cohousing.
> 
> Durham Central Park Cohousing Community (DCPCC) will move into our 4-story
> building in downtown Durham in September 2013.    We've started to think
> about how we might be able to compost table scraps.   We have room for a
> small garden in the back of our building, but not much spare room.   How do
> any of the other urban cohousing communities compost their table scraps?
> Thanks for any suggestions.   
> 
> Dave Austin