Play to learn more about sustainability or design an eco-friendly house: get storage on your phone to give the planet more life.
New year, new apps. It’s time to download some of the apps that will help you meet the 2022 sustainability-related achievements.
Wherever you are on this journey, we have apps for everyone: for those who are just starting out – like WasteApp and Too Good to Go – and for those who want to go even further
For those who are more experienced and want to take a bigger step, they can, for example, start planning a more sustainable home through the Portuguese application My EcoBuild.
Don’t see the small changes in your daily life as an effort, see them as fun driven by these motivational apps.
1. WasteApp
This is the essential application for those who aim to start recycling by 2022. A study by Sociedade Ponto Verde found that one of the barriers to Portuguese people recycling is not knowing how to do it (62%) and, we would say, perhaps not knowing how to inform themselves.
Now you know: WasteApp tells you what the correct destination of each waste is, where the nearest recycling point is, and also what to do with what cannot be recycled.
It is available for iOS and Android.
2. Recycle BinGo
It’s a game, it gives prizes, but it doesn’t give millions. At least in the wallet. To the environment it gives millions of waste placed in the right local. The goal of Recycle BinGo is for users to catch “bugs” every time they put garbage in the recycling bin, in order to encourage recycling – so it is ideal for including children in the game.
When a BinGo card is filled with “bugs,” EcoCoins are given and can be converted into prizes.
The app is available for iOS and Android.
3. Too Good to Go
It is one of the best known apps for fighting food waste, more precisely the 1 million tons of food that the Portuguese throw away every year.
With Too Good to Go you can save some of that food by buying surprise boxes at supermarkets, which have products approaching their expiry date, or meals, bread and pastries from establishments that are part of the app. What makes it more exciting is that it gives you the opportunity to try new things for a reduced price.
Available for iOS and Android.
4. Phenix
Phenix has the same concept as the previous application, but a different way of working – plus different outlets.
There are no surprises here, meaning that you know more or less what to count on when picking, which can be an advantage for those with more food restrictions.
This way, you avoid ending up throwing away food you weren’t expecting and you fulfill the purpose: fighting food waste.
Available for iOS and Android.
5. SuperCook
Following on from the waste-fighting apps is SuperCook, an app that prevents food waste without leaving home.
Just search for an ingredient that you have in your fridge that is about to go bad and others that you have at home. Based on this data, the app suggests a recipe that saves food and your lack of creativity at the end of a workday.
It is available for iOS and Android.
6. Goodbag
In the summer, we told you about Goodbag when it arrived at Continente with eco-friendly bags that help plant trees.
Before you use the app, you have to buy one of the 100% organic cotton bags, and that’s the one to shop with.
For every time you go to the supermarket with your bag and scan with the app, you will be contributing to cleaning plastic from the oceans.
Available for iOS and Android.
7. Tempo de Banho
In the Peggada team’s resolutions for 2022, reducing bath time is one of the goals. Well, we have already downloaded the app, now it’s up to you to take this step.
The app Tempo de Banho (Bath Time) (that’s really what it’s called) gives you 30 seconds to turn on the tap and let the water run until it warms up, and then starts counting down the bath, which can range from 4 to 12 minutes, depending on your goal.
It is available for Android.
8. Quiz Amadora Sustentável
Learning about sustainability is easier with a game. Before, we have mentioned a similar app, but this one is different: on the couch, all you have to do is answer questions about circular economy, waste, and sustainable production and consumption.
It was created by Amadora Municipal Council, but all citizens can learn from these quizzes played in two-player battles, especially children in the 2nd and 3rd grades of elementary school for whom the app was also designed.
9. My EcoBuild
Developed by Portuguese people, the app My EcoBuild allows you to build the house of your dreams on your phone. And when we talk about dreams, it includes a spacious living room, a garden, and also mortar and filler layers made with “environmentally friendly materials,” the app explains.
In addition to tips on more environmentally friendly building, you can request a quote for a more sustainable housing project before you invest in it in earnest.
Available for iOS and Android.
10. Share Waste
Those who are already at a stage where, in addition to recycling, they compost, don’t think that all the steps have been taken. You can also open your home compost bin, through Share Waste, to receive organic waste from those who cannot compost.
Within the same app, there are three types of users who contribute to a better world: waste donors, hosts who receive waste (they can be individuals or community gardens), and coffee managers who want to donate organic material.
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Português (Portuguese (Portugal))