Product review: Bokashi Organko 1 Composter

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Composting is something I’ve done for as long as I’ve had a garden. And that’s the thing, traditional composting is only really an option if you have a garden. The Bokashi Organko 1 composter aims to get around that problem.

The process is simple. Waste kitchen products – everything from vegetable peelings to coffee grounds – are broken down by fermentation caused by micro-organisms in bran that’s added to the mix.

The result is a reduction of 25 per cent in volume of the waste and the production of a liquid that can be used as plant food.

What’s in the Bokashi Organko 1 Kit

The composter has been designed to fit into a kitchen so has a sleek, modern appearance that comes in olive-white, cappuccino-white, grey-green, or black-green. I liked the fact that it is made from recycled plastic and came in a box made of recycled card.

With the kit I got a set of accessories: a measuring cup for the bran, a strainer, cup for draining liquid into, and a ‘masher’ for squashing down the waste to get it fermenting. I was also given a starter pack of the bran, although that’s not necessarily included in every pack. The starter set I was given retails at £46.39 and it’s possible to buy individual components.

The airtight lid means that no smell escapes and even when you open it up, the smell isn’t too bad as the food waste is fermenting rather than rotting.

How to Use It

The first layer is a scoop of the bran on the bottom of the composter. Kitchen waste needs to be cut up into smaller pieces and then added.

Every time you put another layer of waste in, you cover it with another scoop of bran, mashing it down to help fermentation.

This continues until the composter is full. It is then left for 14 days before either tipping into a garden compost heap or putting into a green waste recycling box. You can also bury the contents in the ground where it is said it will turn into compost within four weeks – something I have not had time to test.

Every three to five days, you drain off the liquid, which can be diluted to feed plants – or as a drain cleaner!

The instructions say things that are normally not added to a traditional compost, such as cooked food, meat, cheese, and other dairy products, can be put into the mix. I didn’t try this as our garden on the edge of countryside does sometimes get rats and I was reluctant to do anything that might encourage them. If you were going to put the fermented waste into a kerbside recycling box, that wouldn’t be a problem.

The Verdict

There are certainly some advantages to using a Bokashi Organko 1.

The process is simple and easy to use and there was certainly no smell – something that can be a problem with a traditional kitchen compost caddy. The lid had a really strong seal and even when it was opened, the smell inside wasn’t unpleasant. Even the plant tonic was odourless.

It produces a plant food so you’re getting a double result – plant feed and compost. It is also said to speed up the making of compost once added to a traditional heap. Again, this is something that would need more time to assess.

The main problem we found was that the container was full after just a week – we eat a lot of vegetables – and we had to resort to using our old kitchen compost bucket as the Bokashi Organko 1 still had a week of fermenting left. To use it effectively, you would need two bins.

Other disadvantages are having to buy bran, and the fact that you still end up with waste that needs to go either into a traditional compost heap, or out for ‘recycling’.

The food tonic is also of use only if you have plants either in a garden or houseplants. I’m not convinced anyone needs to regularly produce drain cleaner.

If you have room for a traditional compost heap, the Bokashi Organko 1 is a way of getting more into your compost bin by reducing the volume, and it is said to speed up composting. However, it does take more effort and it’s debatable that the additional plant tonic is enough of a reward.

It is probably best suited to those without a garden but houseplants to feed, or people with a garden but no space for a traditional composting method.

You can find out more about and buy the Bokashi Organko 1 from Skaza and Wiggly Wigglers.