Are you feeling guilty about throwing out your compostable food waste in the general waste but don’t have the room for a compost or a worm farm? Or do you have a compost or a worm farm you would love others to share?
Either way, the ShareWaste app and online platform is for you. . .
The goal of ShareWaste is to connect people and community places that are willing to share their compost heaps and worm farms with others in their area, who don’t have composts but would like to dispose of food scraps in an environmentally responsible way.
Acceptable items are usually vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, leaves and flowers. Items that are generally not acceptable include meat, dairy, bread and pasta as they attract vermin. Click here to find out more about the ‘worst items to compost’. Different people often have their own rules in regards to what they can accept in their compost or worm farm (and in what form) so finding this out first is important to prevent compost contamination.
To a lesser extent there are also sites that will receive food scraps for chooks and this will vary in what is acceptable. For instance old, not mouldy, bread or pasta is usually very welcome with chickens.
How does the ShareWaste app work?
After opening the app you have the option straight away to choose if you are a ‘donor’ (I have Scraps) or a ‘host’ (I have a Compost). The sign up/in process can then be done either by clicking one of these options or by scrolling down on this screen.
Sign up/in is easy. You can register with either FaceBook/Google or an email address with password.
If you ‘HAVE SCRAPS’
Click into this option and then a map will come up. To set your desired location, type in the street name or area, or alternatively you can let Google maps find you.
You will see icons appear which represent composting sites near you.
Click on the icon to bring up more details – this will tell you recipients first name, street name and what they accept/do not accept.
You can then directly contact the site owner to organise your first drop off.
If you cannot find a compost nearby there is an option to send a message to become notified when one comes up in your area.
If you ‘HAVE A COMPOST’
You will need to register and let them know what you can receive and where you are.
After the registration process you’ll start getting messages as people in your area would like to arrange a drop off.
Community Gardens
It is also possible to register as a community garden (or other community place with compost bins or worm farms). The system will allow you to add details about the garden and a link to your website or social media. If you are looking for members, it is a good way to make yout garden more visible and you can also ask for specific organic material for your garden (e.g. newspaper if you need more brown material for your compost).
Overall verdict
This is a great, free community driven initiative which is growing organically. At the moment depending on the area that you are in, you might not see that many sites in your location. But as time goes on and word gets out we are sure that the number of composting sites will increase. If you sign up, invite your friends to join and share it in your circles on social media, you will soon find donors or a host for yourselves in any residential area no matter where you are. And of course, there is the option to be contacted when something does come up.
To start using ShareWaste you can download the app for FREE on the App Store or Google Play. If you prefer to use the online platform visit sharewaste.com. You can also follow ShareWaste on Facebook and Instagram for useful tips on household waste reduction or get inspired by other interesting sustainability and community projects.