Guest Blog: Maree O’Malley – EnsoPet

From very early on in my now 11 years of selling the Bokashi One Composting System, I knew there was a demand and more importantly a need for a much better way of dealing with pet waste, especially dog poo.   The most popular method of collecting dog poo, in plastic bags and disposing in rubbish bins, does not sit well the more environmentally conscious pet owner. Composting Pet waste with micro-organisms seemed an obvious solution, following was many months of research and testing, which led to the development of EnsoPet.

Firstly we developed and tested the starter. Essentially a mix of bokashi, EnsoPet Starter has higher concentrate of micro-organisms and sawdust is added to increase the carbon ratio. This makes it an ideal for starter for composting pet waste.

We wanted the system to be easy to use, so after trialling a few different ideas an inground composter came up trumps. With experiencing the high costs of shipping bulky bokashi buckets to and around Australia we decided a flat pack design was essential. EnsoPet comprises of 4 identical sections of moulded recycled plastic, and a lid. These 4 sections easily clip together to create a bottomless cylinder. We added a pair of tongs to allow for easy, hygienic collection of the waste.

The bottomless cylinder is buried in the garden with only the lid and opening above the ground, it is therefore discrete and requires little space in the garden or lawn. It is so easy to use, simply pick up the poo, drop it into the composter and sprinkle EnsoPet Starter on top. The side sections of the composter have been specifically designed with holes to allow access for, nutrients, microbes, water, and worms. Not only are you keeping your yard free of pet waste and preventing it ending up in land fill you are retuning carbon and adding life to your soil.

The micro-organisms in the EnsoPet Starter accelerate the breakdown of the waste. Due to this continuous cycle of composting, the unit can take many months, or in fact may never completely fill. If it does fill, you simply move it to another location in your garden.

EnsoPet units can be purchased from a wide range of retailers Australia wide (A.C.T., Victoria, N.S.W.,Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, or online.

You can also visit the full Bokashi website at: www.bokashi.com.au