My six-year-old daughter's complaining and whining is always met by the same response from me - "What do girls who complain get? Nothing." It's quite effective at getting her to stop whingeing, but guess what - I've discovered that it's not true! My recent rant about how much I hate composting has landed me a brand new bokashi bin courtesy of the good people at Todae!

In my whine about composting I dismissed the suggestion of Bokashi composting saying, "I can see a bokashi bin going the same way as the worm farm, the juice extractor and the bread maker ...". This bokashi bagging reached the folk at Todae and they reckon, contrary to my complaints, bokashi composting is the ideal composting solution for an unenthusiastic composter such as myself. They were so convinced that I'd love it if I tried it; they gave me the bin for free. Well I am going to give it a go, but between you and me, I think they've got themselves a challenge on their hands - I'm a fairly cynical compost critic!

The bokashi composting system arrived at our place last Friday, which was conveniently close to my husband's birthday - "Happy Birthday, Honey!", so no one is to let on that it was for free OK? (I feel justified because he gave me the juice extractor as a birthday gift and the breadmaker was a mother's day present hahahaha). The system consists of an airtight 20 litre container and a packet of bokashi - crushed grain fermented with beneficial microbes and molasses. The bin has a sieve part that separates the top and bottom of the bin. You place a layer of food scraps in the top, and then sprinkle over a good handful of bokashi, and then shut the lid. Any liquid collects in the reservoir at the bottom, and this can be drained off using the tap at the bottom of the bin. The liquid can be used on the garden or poured down the drain - apparently this is a great way to clean your drains because the good microbes in the bokashi compete with any nasty ones hanging out in your pipes.

The term "bokashi" is a Japanese word that means "fermented organic matter". Composting with bokashi relies on a process of fermentation to break the organic matter down rather than putrefaction (rotting), which is what goes on in your conventional compost heap (Well in compost guru's heap not mine). Bokashi composting is an anaerobic process, which means that it doesn't need air to proceed, so the bin can remain sealed, trapping any odours. Fermented organic matter isn't as smelly as the rotting stuff, so that's one tick for Bokashi!

Reportedly bokashi composting is a lot less finicky than worm farms or compost heaps. You can chuck almost all your kitchen wastes into the bin - fruit and vegetables, cooked and uncooked, coffee grinds, tea bags, and EVEN scraps of meat and fish!

So I am going to give it a go, and I'll report back to you all on how it’s going.

I'd also love to hear from anyone else who has tried this system.

Bokashi bin supplied to EarthmMums by www.todae.com.au - lifestyle for a sustainable future

Read about Marie's first week with the bin here...