Looking to reduce your waste but don’t know where to start? When I began my journey to improve my lifestyle to be more sustainable, I didn’t either until I started prioritizing what actions I could start with and which resources would be most helpful in my journey.
Recycling and waste reduction are small yet meaningful steps towards a greener future. Here are 8 apps that helped me reduce my waste, and why I never looked back.
Recycle Coach
Recycle Coach is my go-to reminder app for trash day and waste disposal. It’s normal to get confused about what’s being collected which week, and what waste goes into which bin. Recycle Coach makes your life easier by giving you weekly reminders to put your trash out. By telling this app which municipality your address falls under, you can see a calendar view of the trash collection schedule for your zip code. This includes information such as the time of collection, what is being collected, and a mention of holidays, if there are any.
Within the app, you can search for how a waste item should be disposed of and the proper disposal method to use, if you’re unsure which bin it goes into. Recycle Coach is also a useful resource if you are a parent: its “Discovery” tab helps children aged 3-12 learn about recycling concepts such as composting through a simple format.
Recycle Coach has been such a handy tool in my waste-reduction arsenal, because of its timely reminders that have saved my recycling and garbage bins from overflowing. Since some waste can be confusing to dispose of, I always turn to this app to help me sort items correctly.
Download Recycle Coach on iOS or Android.
Olio
Community can be an integral part of reducing waste on a local level. Olio is a free app to aid your waste reduction efforts by engaging with your local community. Using Olio, you can donate, sell, buy, and borrow items such as food, tools, and clothes.
Once you get started on the app, you’ll be able to view community members near your location, and what they are requesting, selling, or giving away. I’ve often found temporary or one-time use tools, such as drills and shovels, from community members on this app, and since items can be borrowed, I’ve never had to pay any extra fees on the exchange. Once you message a member, you can arrange for a pick-up from their doorstep (or even a public space for safety). Olio is reminiscent of Facebook Marketplace in terms of transactions, but what makes this app better is the borrowing/lending options.
Olio is a good way to connect with community members safely while participating in a give-and-take system for items and food that you have no use for. Combined with food waste reduction and thrifting apps, Olio can be a good tool in your efforts to reduce your waste generation.
Download Olio on iOS or Android.
NoWaste
If there is one wastage red flag that I wave too regularly, it is losing track of the groceries and food items in my fridge. While apps like AnyList (to create shopping or grocery lists) and Supercook (to find recipes with items you have in your fridge) are helpful, I needed a dedicated app for keeping track of my food’s shelf life.
This is where NoWaste came in: this food-saving app helps you create an inventory of items in your kitchen and fridge while adding a (recommended) expiry date for each item you log. You can then cross off items from your virtual pantry as you consume them or mark them as expired when you throw them away to prevent excess space being taken up. You can also scan bar codes for food items if you don’t want to manually enter item names.
NoWaste lets you earn “coins” in the app for every item consumed on time, and track your impact on the earth by calculating your carbon footprint. The reason I love this app is that beyond being an inventory app, you can satisfy all your grocery shopping needs in one place, by also creating shopping lists as you consume items in your pantry.
Download NoWaste on iOS or Android.
Too Good to Go
This is an absolute must-have app for anyone looking to reduce food waste while saving money on takeout. Too Good to Go lets you view nearby participating stores (such as bakeries, restaurants, grocery stores, and cafes) and place a “surprise bag,” which contains items that the store has left at the end of the day. You pay significantly less on this app than what you would actually pay when you buy normally since all surprise bags are sold at a discount price.
Once you place an order, you will need to go to pick up the bag from the store. You can also schedule a pick up, and save stores you frequent in your “Favorites” tab.
I was a bit skeptical about Too Good to Go when I saw its Instagram ads, given how new this concept was for me, but once I gave it a shot, it has become one of my favorite apps to use when I want to cut down on my monthly expenses on food delivery or don’t have time to cook. Although I have yet to try the grocery surprise bags, this is a good way to reduce your food waste.
Too Good to Go has a very good selection of bakery items (although this might depend on where you live): for instance, I usually buy a Tim Horton’s surprise bag of bakery goods, which would cost me $15 normally, for only $4.99. You can track the money you saved and CO2 conserved through your purchases on the app.
Download Too Good to Go on iOS or Android.
Related
Depop
I love finding second-hand clothes, jewelry, and even kitchen or home items from local vintage and thrift stores. This is a great way to save money while shopping sustainably and locally, contributing to reducing the waste you generate. But not everybody might have access to good thrift stores, which is where thrifting apps and websites can come in handy. One of the best online resources for thrifting is Depop.
This is a reselling and buying app where you can find some unique thrifted finds and sell clothes and accessories you don’t use anymore. Once you set up your account, add your sizing, and select brands you are interested in, Depop gives you recommendations and lets you discover new brands, categories, and styles.
When you like an item, you can directly message the buyer, place an offer, or negotiate the price if needed. When you buy an item, Depop ships the items directly to you (for a small shipping fee) from the seller, reducing any transaction-related risks.
What I like about Depop is that it allows you to easily keep track of your purchases (and items you may want to see), bundle your items for convenient shipping, and its recommendation system, which usually gives me items I’m not able to find in nearby thrift shops.
Download Depop on iOS or Android.
PoshMark
PoshMark is another sustainable shopping app known for its collection of second-hand items and designer finds. What makes PoshMark an excellent choice for your thrifting needs is its interface: with a scrollable feed, shopping is made convenient. You can view an item’s original price as well as the discounted deal you are getting.
PoshMark lets you sell your items too, with an AI tool that quickly fills out the description of your item. You can set a listing price and deal with buyers directly. The chances of being scammed is also reduced through PoshMark’s Protect policy, which offers you a full refund if an item you bought does not match the listing.
You can even shop for makeup and skincare items in brand-new condition by people who, for instance, might have bought the wrong shade or size. One reason I always keep coming back to PoshMark is its collection of designer goods, such as handbags and vintage items. For instance, I was able to buy a Tommy Hilfiger bag (originally worth CA$150) for only CA$30 in almost new condition.
Download PoshMark on iOS or Android.
WaterFlow
When you’re trying to reduce waste, one important element to keep in mind is water conservation. This can start with something as small as hitting your daily water goals using a water tracker such as Waterllama. But if you want to take this to the next level, then you can start using a water-saving app to track your waste.
WaterFlow is an app serving a specific purpose: to track your shower time and estimate if you’re within the recommended time of 5 minutes for each shower. You can either manually set a shower timer and stop it when you’re finished with your shower, or, if you take your phone with you when you bathe, use the app’s microphone to automatically track the minutes spent in the shower.
As someone who has a bad habit of spending unnecessary time in the shower and letting water go to waste, WaterFlow is a life (and water) saver that has helped me cut down my water consumption significantly. WaterFlow also tracks how much water and trees you have saved, with daily tips for water conservation.
Download WaterFlow on iOS or Android.
Scrapp
Scrapp is a must-try app if you want to take waste disposal to the next level. Like Recycle Coach, this app lets you sort your trash into different bins. But Scrapp also lets you scan the barcodes for specific items that may have different disposal instructions than their category. This can help you learn how to dispose of new items that you have never bought before, while also searching for general items without bar codes.
What I really like about Scrapp is how detailed the waste disposal breakdown is. For example, I often get confused when it comes to an item that has to be deconstructed to dispose of parts in separate bins (such as mixed packaging items). Scrapp gives you instructions on which part needs to be disposed of in which bin, which is made even more accurate when you scan a bar code or search up an item by brand or company name.
Scrapp keeps track of items you have disposed of, and estimates your recycling rate and plastic consumption. You can also view an overview of the type of waste you generate, divided into recycling, compost, and trash, to work towards your waste-reduction efforts.
Download Scrapp on iOS or Android.
Beyond these apps, you can find online resources and tips to help lead a more sustainable lifestyle through waste reduction. A good place to start is to prioritize what type of waste you want to cut down on, and then look into the best resources to help you.
