Have you heard of ShareWaste?

Have you heard of ShareWaste? Well, you have now and it’s time to get excited. Because, for the countless landfill issues plaguing our country, this concept is a game-changer. In a nutshell, ShareWaste is an app that connects you to people who have signed up in your area to collect food waste.

I discovered it about 12 months ago but have only recently signed up. After several failed attempts at home composting, and no intention of setting up a worm farm just yet, this is a great interim solution. I have connected with a lovely lady, a five-minute drive away from me, who has 3 worm farms and a compost system – BINGO! Now, not only am I donating my scraps, I have my neighbour and a good friend on board too! We arrange for our scraps to be collected every Friday morning. It’ll either be collected from my porch, or I drop it off at her place (just a bucket by her front door). It’s as easy as that!

Why bother?

Did you know that Aussies waste 3.2 million tonnes of food per year? This costs the economy 20 billion dollars. When food waste decays in an anaerobic environment, methane is formed (which is 25x more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming).

Think about the amount of food that you throw away each week. Whether it is the tops and tails of veg, the peels or cores of fruit, it all adds up. Rather than send it to landfill, consider checking out ShareWaste and helping to feed someone’s worms or chickens!

There is some good info on the ShareWaste website to help you work out what can and can’t be collected, but a chat with your local ‘collector’ will clear up any confusion too. For example, onion skins and a few citrus peels are ok for Jane, my ShareWaste contact, plus she’s always after cardboard and paper so I give her egg cartons and any boxes I’ve gathered during the week.

Here’s a general idea of what I do:

〉I collect any fruit or veg scraps, eggshells and coffee grounds, on my bench each day.

〉I pop them all into a dedicated container and keep them in my fridge, adding to it daily.

〉My friend and neighbour drop their buckets onto my porch on Friday morning, and I pop mine out there too.

〉Jane swings by, empties the buckets into her giant bucket, and off she goes.

〉Rinse and repeat (physically, and figuratively!).

So there you have it, ShareWaste is an easy way to make a real difference. Don’t ever discount the impact you, as an individual, can have; every little bit counts. Just imagine if everyone did something small, the impact would be huge! If ShareWaste still isn’t your thing, YET, share this article with someone who might be keen to give it a go.