Growing Green Minds
More than just a smart way to handle food waste, ZingBokashi is a hands-on teaching tool that encourages akonga/students to think about sustainability, food systems, soil health, and how they can make a difference to their environment.
Whether it’s part of the Kids Edible Garden programme, EnviroSchools, science curriculum, staffroom kitchens, or composting hubs, schools are discovering how easy it is to turn everyday scraps into rich compost and life-long learning.
ZingBokashi™ in school encourages:
- Waste responsibility – students learn to be aware of and how to manage what they throw away
- Teamwork and leadership – sharing duties, learning reliability and consistency, taking ownership and encouraging peers
- Connection to nature – developing an understanding of food as a valuable resource and the importance of soil health
- Life-skills - students learn about gardening, composting and how to use produce from the vegetable patch, giving them tools to provide for themselves and their whānau
- Communication and generosity - sharing their knowledge and discoveries with others, gifting excess produce
Have you looked inside your school’s rubbish bin lately? Chances are, nearly
three-quarters of its contents could be composted or recycled (source: Auckland City Council). Multiply that across every school in Aotearoa, and it adds up to a mountain of avoidable landfill waste.
Why Recycle Your School Food Scraps?
Sending food waste to landfill produces methane gas and leachate, both of which pollute our air and waterways, harming wildlife and ecosystems. But with a ZingBokashi™ system, your students can turn lunchbox leftovers into rich, living soil that feeds school gardens, community plots, or even potted plants in the classroom.
More than just an environmental fix, this is real-world learning in action. Composting teaches students:
- Natural cycles - from food, to soil, to food again
- Science in motion - Fermentation, microorganisms, decomposition and soil health
- Kaitiakitanga - guardianship of the earth and resources
ECE's, Primary Schools, High Schools and Tertiary Institutions across New Zealand love ZingBokashi™ because it's:
- Fast – up to 50% quicker than traditional composting
- Low-odour – ferments instead of rotting, so no bad smells
- Compact & clean – no messy mixing or attracting rodents
- Easy & fun – just sprinkle and seal
- Double benefits – produces compost and liquid fertiliser
- Council-friendly – many local councils offer subsidies
- Low-Maintenance - leave it sitting while everyone is on holiday
10 Tips for Bokashi Success in Your School
- Nominate a Bokashi Champion to lead your “Green Team”
- Do a Waste Audit—measure your school’s scraps for a week
- Involve students, teachers, and whānau
- Choose your system: 15L buckets or our 120L wheelie bin
- Set up collection points in kitchens, lunch areas, or classrooms
- Appoint 2 students per classroom to collect food scraps after lunch
- Add CompostZing™ daily along with food scraps and seal tightly
- Ferment full buckets for 7–10 days
- Drain the juice every few days for gardens or houseplants
- Dig the fermented waste into your school garden or compost heap
No garden? No worries! Donate to a local community garden, or share compost with staff and families.
