The old saying ‘waste not, want not’ has never been more relevant, with both the environment and household finances under an increased amount of strain.
That’s why we’ve chosen to spotlight an app sub-category that doesn’t really have a name, but which we’re going to dub ‘waste avoidance apps’ for the sake of brevity. These four apps will help you to save money and lessen your impact on the wider ecosystem.
Olio
Olio is a handy local sharing app that lets you advertise in your immediate vicinity whenever you have anything going spare. This can be practically anything including food, clothes, toys and books. Your options for sharing are similarly broad, whether you want to give your item as a free gift, loan it out, or even sell it. There’s a full pre-loved marketplace up and running through the app.
Too Good To Go
This brilliant app connects you up with local restaurants, bakeries, and supermarkets, and lets you grab fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste at a knock-down price. Check the listings, make a purchase, and go and pick up your Good To Go goodie bag, smug in the knowledge you’ve saved money and done your bit in the fight against food waste.
Depop
Depop’s focus is on clothing, allowing you to buy and sell secondhand items in a sustainable but secure fashion. It positions itself as a fashion-focused app, but there’s definitely a strong waste reduction angle here. After all, if millions more people were to start buying their clothes ‘pre-loved’, that would mean less of the destructive production and logistics cycle that goes into producing new clothes and putting them into shops.
NoWaste
NoWaste isn’t a sharing app like the others on this list, but it will help you to cut down on food waste. It serves as a food inventory app, encouraging you to take stock of all the items in your cupboard and fridge so that you can monitor what you actually need. You can scan barcodes to add products quickly and easily, while sharing with your family or house mates will ensure that everyone’s on the same waste-cutting page.