These Apps Can Help You Live Zero Waste For FREE
Here are even MORE free apps and services you can use to live a zero-waste life, partake in activism, and get outside! These are apps I have personally used and loved for years, or apps I hear other environmentalists raving about. They will help you shop small, plant trees, and reduce your own personal waste.
This post is not sponsored by any of these providers.
Chilli
If you want to partake in activism, this is the app for you! You may wonder how so many other activists know about campaigns, fundraisers, and events. Well, one way may be through the Chilli app. Chilli describes themselves as, “designed by activists for everyone. Chilli is the only app that connects you to activists so you can take action and fuel their campaigns.”
So not only can you search for causes that mean a lot to you to donate to and sign petitions for (and spread the word, of course), but you can also launch your own campaign on here for others to find and help you with! This is great for organizers, mobilizers, amplifiers, and other activism roles alike.
All of this and more, they make super easy to share so that we can amplify these actions. Try it now!
Swapdrop
Sick of having to barter and negotiate for money on apps like OfferUp? Well, now you can trade instead! Swapdrop allows you to trade one item for another. You and your fellow swapper just have to agree on whether the items are of equal value. Here’s what Swapdrop has to say for itself:
“Say goodbye to the traditional buy-sell cycle.
With SwapDrop, you can trade any unwanted or unnecessary items you have for something of value in someone else's hands.
It's a Win - Win. You have what they want, they have what you want. Meet your needs, make their day, and do it all for free!”
So download the app, upload items you want to swap, and browse for other items you may want to trade for!
Wildhero
You can now plant trees while you send emails! Simply use the Wildhero app on your phone or the free browser extension on your laptop or desktop computer. I’ve been using this service for over a year and love the ease of taking an eco action.
But how does Wildhero work?
If you already use Gmail, it will work just the same as before, with the added benefit of planting trees. They claim your data is secure and never sold or shared. Wildhero makes its money through non-invasive, non-targeted ads for only sustainable and ethical brands like Allbirds, for example. You can even check out your virtual forest to visualize your impact. But, yes, they plant trees in the real world.
They plant in over 10 countries and do not plant monocrops. Instead, they focus on planting native species to actually restore forest ecosystems, and they work with partner organizations such as Veritree and Conservation International.
Give them a try! It’s an easy, passive way to make an impact for free.
NoThanks!
Anti-war environmentalists, this is for you! Spoiler alert: all environmentalists should be anti-war and anti-genocide.
Try the NoThanks! App to better vote with your dollar. It’s a lot of work to manually scrounge through every brand you pick up at the grocery store or drug store. You have to search who owns the brand and who might own the parent company, and so on and so forth, and it can take a ton of time that not everyone has access to.
So, try this free app instead to simply scan the barcodes, and it will do the work for you in much less time. NoThanks! particularly lets you know if the brand is either Israeli-owned or the company supports Israel monetarily. This money would then go toward funding the Palestinian genocide. It was created by a Palestinian himself who sees the value in us voting with our dollars.
Your actions matter. Let’s put our money where our mouths are!
5 Calls
Ready to take more action? The 5 Calls app makes it easier than ever to call your reps. If you’re not new to my socials, you’ll have seen me rant and rave about 5 Calls for easily over a year now. It’s amazing for so many reasons, but in short, it’s a free app that does all the heavy lifting for you to call your reps.
Download this free app, input your zip code, and that’s really all the legwork you have to do. This app will give you a list of issues that, when you click on them, will give you a ready-to-go script for when you call your reps. But how do you call your reps? Through the app! The app lets you know which rep should be called about each issue and gives you the phone number.
Your phone app will open, so put the call on speaker and reopen the 5 Calls app so that you can see the script. My best advice is to slightly alter the script so that you’re not flagged as spam, but I have more tips for calling your reps in this video.
Yes, it’s scary to call your reps and talk to a member of the government, but practice makes it easier. Just rip the bandage off and try with this app that makes it far less intimidating.
Resistbot
Now you can take that script you just used for that call and slap it into an email to your reps, too! It’s great to contact them in many ways, and the Resistbot tool (not really an app) makes it super easy to send emails and even physical mail to your reps.
Head to their website on your phone or your computer to get started. When you first try it out, it may ask you for some basic information like your zip code so that it can find your reps. From there, it’s time to write! When I’m on my phone, I often just type the message I want to send. It will also prompt you to write a subject line. Once you have given the tool your subject line and message contents, it will format the email and send it to your reps targeted for that issue. Super easy!
When I logged in on the computer, though, it already had a prompt ready for me to take action on. I signed 3 petitions and sent 9 emails in under a minute, so it was already ready to go. I didn’t even have to write anything!
Resistbot makes it super easy to take quick, free, civic action on a daily basis. Try it now!
Merlin/Seek
These apps may not help you to take action, but they will help you to get outside and learn about your local flora and fauna for free. What’s the environmental benefit there?
The more we all care about our environments, the more motivated we are to fight for their protection. When we realize how connected we all are to one another and how every single species matters in the web of life, it makes it so much easier to become a well-rounded environmentalist who cares about more than one issue. You will start to see how air pollution, water pollution, plastic, and more affect your new favorite bird or flower.
Getting outside helps connect us to our plant and animal neighbors. It helps ground us and helps us take action. It might even inspire you to volunteer with a local conservation organization!
So, try the Merlin app (and eBird) for more free birding, and try Seek/iNaturalist to identify other animals as well as plants.
AllTrails
But where should you go to go birding or botanizing? Use the free AllTrails app to find a trail suitable for you! From bird walks to full-day hikes to backpacking, AllTrails will show you plenty of options to choose from. You can read reviews of the trails, look for current trail conditions, track your mileage, and even download the maps to use offline.
Again, getting outside is super important for our physical and mental health and leads us to become better, more connected environmentalists. Not to mention, with the defunding and slashing of our public lands under Trump 2.0, it’s important now more than ever to understand and care for our public lands.
So get out there, but follow Leave No Trace. Volunteer for your favorite park. Be a respectful visitor. And now that you have a newfound appreciation for our parks, sign petitions, spread the word, and join the fight to keep public lands in public hands!
Storygraph
Another great way to become a more well-rounded environmentalist, especially if you’re more of the homebody type, is to read! But read in a sustainable way. In part 1 of this series, we talked about using your library card and the Libby/Hoopla apps. Those are still great! But where can you keep track of your TBR and rate books? With Storygraph!
Why not use other apps like Goodreads? Well, Goodreads is owned by Amazon. If you haven’t heard yet, Amazon SUCKS. They’re one of the most unethical and unsustainable brands on the planet, and you can learn more here. So, skip the exploitation and pollution and support a small brand that is black woman-owned and try Storygraph instead.
They also make it SUPER easy to swap to their app. I used Goodreads before I knew who owned it. I think all readers likely do. But Storygraph has step-by-step instructions for how to download your data from Goodreads and upload it into their app. Their rating system is also much more in-depth, and they give you really fun, better stats at the end of the year than Goodreads does.
Sure, there are other free book apps out there, but this is my fav for keeping track of my TBR and reading reviews! Try Storygraph!
EcoRate
I am SHOCKED I didn’t include this amazing app in Part 1! You NEED to try EcoRate. I first tried this app years ago as they highlighted local coffee shops (avoid big corps, shop small!) that either allowed you to bring your reusable cup with you and/or offered reusable cups when you ordered to drink it in the shop. This was super handy during the peak of COVID when many businesses stopped taking reusable cups.
But they have since expanded, and it’s a super helpful app to help you shop zero waste in other ways! You can find zero-waste stores, refill stores, cooperative stores, and many more eco-conscious establishments to help you vote with your dollar and reduce waste.
Even if you already know all your local cafes and zero-waste stores, this app is still super helpful when you take a road trip or visit a new city. It’s always handy to keep around! Enjoy EcoRate!
That may conclude part 2, but there are more amazing apps out there that I will talk about in part 3, coming soon. For now, check out part 1!
Let us know your favorite apps for living low waste below, and remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
