Going green is not just a fad nowadays — it’s a common responsibility. And with all the technology and information available, never before has it been easier to protect the environment by using less and reusing more.
Here is the list of free Ukrainian mobile apps and websites to explore the joys of an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Recycling waste
Ukraine has relatively few special bins to sort and recycle waste compared to most of the European countries, but even those existing colored sorting bins aren’t as effective because Ukrainians don’t know how to sort the waste properly.
Many put greasy pizza boxes or dirty yogurt cups into these bins, contaminating the rest of the recyclable materials in a bin and damaging the sorting equipment. As a result, everything ends up in the landfill.
To fight the issue, Ukrainian tech company MacPaw has developed mobile app Sortui educating people about the topic and navigating them to recycling locations in their area. The app gives a step-by-step guideline on how to dispose of recyclable materials properly.
The users need to follow three simple steps. First, they choose the type of recyclable material — glass, paper, cardboard, metal, plastic or other. Then, the app gives advice on how to prepare it for recycling. For example, to clean the material and make sure it is dry. Finally, the user can choose the nearby recycling location to dispose of trash.
The app is available on Google Play and App Store.
Ukrainian tech startup Ecola, in turn, works as a delivery service. It asks users to put clean and dry recyclables into a bag and leave it by the front door of their office or house so that Ecola’s volunteers could pick it up.
The company then sells collected waste to local sorting centers that deliver sorted materials to businesses that recycle them.
Ecola’s chatbot on messaging app Telegram also explains which types of waste can be recycled and how to clean it.
To test the service, users have to activate EcolaAssistBot on Telegram or join Ecola’s initiative via its website.
Other Ukrainian mobile apps and online platforms dedicated to recycling include goRecycle that shows places to dispose of electronic waste, Recyclemap and Epochtimes that shows on map all the nearby sorting and recycling centers in Ukraine.
Reducing damage
Steps to reduce the devastating impact humans have on the environment can be simple. This includes using one’s own mug when ordering a takeaway coffee instead of a disposable one, or opting for a bicycle instead of public transport or a car.
Here are the apps that reward sustainable decisions.
Ukrainian Eco Friendly Cafe helps users find local cafes that offer discounts or free snacks for customers who bring their own coffee mugs.
Businesses all over Ukraine have joined the initiative, including Kyiv’s Bali Bowl Cafe, Altruist and one of Wolkonsky bakeries on Lva Tolstoho Street.
With this project, the app developers want to reduce the use of disposable cups and plastic straws that are not recyclable.
The map with eco-friendly cafes is available in English on the company’s website.
Popular Ukrainian electro-folk band Onuka launched an initiative to support waste sorting facilities in Ukraine through a music video about a world wrapped in plastic.
Everyone can join the initiative by watching and sharing the video. The money earned from it is automatically transferred to local waste sorting centers. The viewers can also make their own contributions to the project.
Onuka’s Ecostrum initiative is explained in English on the band’s website.
Mobile app Ecoinspector allows users to stay on guard of the nature, reporting about pollution — a polluted lake, accidental garbage dump, or deforestation in a particular area — to officials.
The app users can take a photo of the issue they encountered and add it to the register. The app will alert Ukraine’s state environmental service which will then tackle the problem.
As of Nov. 3, nearly 317 users have joined the initiative, resolving over 240 ecological problems in different parts of Ukraine.
The app is currently available on Google Play.
Ukrainian mobile app EcoHike, developed by tech company Global Logic, asks users to stay conscious and fight pollution even when they travel around Ukraine.
Like Ecoinspector, the app allows to map a polluted area so that volunteers or (just other app users) can clean it.
The company particularly encourages people to use the app while traveling across the Carpathian Mountains or unpopulated areas that usually stay polluted because people rarely reach them and see the garbage.
The app is available on Google Play and App Store.
