CIWM Early Careers Ambassador Tabitha Skeats examines how two popular and exciting apps are reducing waste and promoting sustainable more consumption.
Waste management forms an essential component to tackling the climate crisis. One way that individuals can contribute to a move towards net zero and reduce climate change impacts is through sustainable solutions towards waste management – such as reducing food waste.
How does waste management contribute to climate impact?
It’s well known that the production and disposal of waste has a significant impact on our climate.
Currently, food waste alone accounts for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to WWF, 40% of the food we produce globally goes to waste.
As individuals we are all responsible for being mindful of what we are throwing away and should take advantage of what we can repurpose and reuse, to prevent unnecessary waste.
So, what can we do to tackle this? Here are two exciting and accessible apps that can be used to support individuals in a move towards waste reduction.
Olio
Olio has rescued 100 million meals from going to waste since they were founded in 2015. This is the equivalent of preventing 177,715 tonnes of CO2 emissions or 177,600 passengers’ flights from London to New York.
Olio is an app where users can easily upload unwanted items which are not in a condition to be sold but can be reused or refurbished.
Some successful collections for me include: a functioning blender, flowers, numerous pieces of furniture such as mirrors and chest of drawers, and even a bike!
Olio also has community features. Users can support local supermarkets and café’s in listing their excess products. For example, users can collect surplus food items on their ‘best-by date’ from big chains, such as Tesco and Pret, that would otherwise be thrown away.
Ultimately, Olio increases the life cycle of items and strongly promotes reuse and repurposing in a way that’s fun and engaging.
Too Good to Go
In 2020, the food waste prevention app ‘Too Good To Go’ saved 2 million meals from going to waste. This has prevented 5 million Kg of CO2 emissions- the equivalent to that emitted by 984 flights around the world.
The app supports business in preventing food waste through listing surplus food at the end of the day in ‘Magic Bags’. These mystery bags can be bought by users on the app for between £2-£5.00 a bag.
Aside from allergen advice, the content of the bag is unknown, making it a fun surprise! Some bags may contain a wonderful assortment of pastries and toasties from Costa, others may be an abundance of fruit and veg from the local shop and other times all manner of items, such as bread, cakes and crisps from Aldi.
A huge benefit of Too Good to Go is that not only is it preventing food waste, but also supporting local small cafes and restaurant in your area. This app is inspiring a collective movement towards fighting food waste.
