6 Best Apps to Help with Recycling Household Waste
In Part 2 of this blog series, I want to help you understand ways of reducing and recycling household waste, or rubbish if you prefer.
In a past life, I was the “face of waste”. I became intimate for a while with landfill leachate and gas, shopping centre skips, recycling bins and composting facilities during my work as a budding environmental scientist! It was far from glamorous but those days of learning and working with a fabulous team of waste management experts gave me a great insight into the effects of consumerism on our planet.
So, it’s no surprise that I remain hyper-vigilant when it comes to ways of minimising the amount of rubbish we generate and turning household waste into treasure, if not for us, for somebody else. Whether it’s compost for the garden, or plastic that gets transformed into garden furniture, there are multiple ways to divert the trucks from the landfill.
It starts by knowing your options for recycling household waste, which is why I’ve been keeping a beady eye out for some apps that can help us all. Download them and you will discover where can send your food scraps and what you can do with your old batteries, aluminium foil, nail polishes, used stationary – the list goes on!
You could be misled into thinking that just because something is recyclable (as per the ole’ recycle symbol on the bottom of your packaging) it can be placed in your recycling bin for council pick-up. However, ‘recyclable’ doesn’t mean it is actually ‘recycled’. It’s best to check with your council which items are actually recycled, as they all vary. Then start checking out the following six apps because many items you once thought were only fit for the bin can actually be put to good use by someone else.
6 OF THE BEST APPS FOR RECYCLING HOUSEHOLD WASTE
1. Recycle Smart
You can discover how to recycle over 170 items in over 500 councils in Australia. Built in collaboration with Planet Ark it provides information for every council area in Australia and allows residents to search for both kerbside and drop off services for a huge range of materials. Arranged nicely into categories: Automotive, Batteries, Chemicals, Construction, Household, Electronic, Food, Garden, Glass, Metal, Plastics, Paper and Cardboard, if you can’t put it in your waste or recycling bin, this app will tell you where it can be recycled or treated.
Some Australian councils have also developed their own App – use this website to see if yours is one of them:
2. Sustain me
Similar to the above app, this one is available in certain parts of Australia and growing based on data provided by local councils. The app lists items that you can recycle in your area and where. Wondering what to do with used chemical drums, calculators or what coloured bin to place your cereal box in? This is your app to find out. If your area is not included be sure to hit the ‘Council and Me’ button to request your council to become involved.
3. Share Waste
This App helps connect people who want to offload their kitchen scraps to neighbours who are already composting or keep chickens. There are two options: select either the ‘I Have Scraps’ button to find someone composting near you, or the ‘I Have Compost’ option to start receiving scraps.
4. KOODA
Not an app but you can register online here for this food scraps collection service in the Perth area. Leave your bucket out once a week and it will be transferred to a composting system and turned back into goodness.
5. Love your Leftovers
To help put a stop to the huge amount of food being discarded by households in NSW, Cumberland Council has joined the NSW EPA’s Love Food Hate Waste program. The council developed this app to offer practical tips, advice and recipes to help you minimise food waste in your home. Wondering what you can make with that wilting celery stick – this is your app!
6. ABC veggie guide
For the green fingers among you! This app helps you work out what veggies should be planted when, no matter what climate you live in or where. ABC Veggie Guide will give you all the information you need to produce healthy crops throughout the year. Want to know when to plant broccoli? It will tell you the best varieties, planting direction and hints, pH levels, harvest times and potential problems. There are also some useful fact sheets on everything from making raised beds, companion planting, composting, soil health, mulching, organic fungicides and integrated pest management.
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Hi, I’m Una. Eco-Lifestyle Coach & Scientist
I create healthy homes and lifestyles that change lives for the better.
When you need straightforward, simple information, I will give it to you. I can cut through the science to give you practical tips for taking charge of your health, your home and workplace.
This means it’s easier for you to get on the right track to an econscious lifestyle.
Whether it’s online or in person, I’ll guide you every step of the way.
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