5 Apps for a More Sustainable New Year
Many of us set personal goals for the New Year in December. I can share a few mobile apps to help you live more sustainably in the New Year.
Many of us set personal goals for the New Year in December. I don’t have statistics, but I can guess that the most popular are related to losing weight, quitting smoking, saving more money, or reading more books. However, if you participate in charity activities or take care of the environment, you have a broader view of the world and can set goals to reduce your carbon footprint. As an ecological enthusiast, I can share a few mobile apps to help you live more sustainably in the New Year.
iScanner
What about starting with reducing your paper consumption? It’s easy to do with apps built for scanning and editing documents like iScanner. Anytime you want to print a few pages to mark up, think twice—iScanner allows you to edit scanned documents on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Thanks to OCR, every scanned page becomes a readable and editable document. If you need to sign your document and send a copy to your partner or client, you can do it in two clicks without printing.
One thing that makes iScanner my favorite app for scanning and working with documents is the eco-badges and widgets. Users get to see, in real time, the number of trees saved by the entire iScanner community and their personal achievements.
Too Good To Go
Have you ever thought about how much food goes into garbage bins and landfills every day? Supermarkets, restaurants, and cafes throw away tons of products and cooked dishes with expired dates. If you imagine the scale of this problem, you may end up paying more attention to food that’s on sale when shops try to sell more products at a low price before they get thrown out. Another useful way to reduce food waste is to buy cooked dishes through the Too Good To Go app.
With this app, you can buy unsold food from pizza, sushi, burgers, and fresh fruits from your local sellers at a great price. The app now works in 40 countries, including the US and UK.
Tap Water Stations and Hydration
Plastic waste is one of the most pressing issues for our planet. Most of you have probably seen video clips of how much plastic now pollutes our oceans, forests, and every other place where people reside. Eliminating all plastic from your life is difficult, but you can take small steps in this direction. For example, start carrying a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water.
You can refill your bottle not only at home or in the office, but also in many public places with drinking fountains, as well as in cafes and restaurants that offer water. Finding such places in the US is easy with the Tap app, which shows locations where you can get water and the fastest route to get there.
Vinted
When you declutter your closet, it can be disheartening to see how many things haven’t been worn in years that you now need to get rid of. But clothes that are worn out or no longer fit could become a good purchase for someone else. Invest a little time in photographing and listing your items on a platform like Vinted. Your old jacket or sweater might be just the stylish piece someone else is dreaming of.
Your efforts will have a double effect. On the one hand, you’re giving things you no longer need a second life. And on the other hand, you can earn money for new purchases or charity donations. Having the Vinted app on your phone can serve as a reminder that consumption should be conscious.
JouleBug
If you’re not already tired from reading my previous recommendations and want to discover more daily activities that can reduce your carbon footprint and help save the planet, you can install the JouleBug app to get even more ideas.
The app makes your journey to a greener life easy—and gamified. It shares practical ways to save natural resources, like suggesting you open a window instead of flicking on the a/c, or offering hints on how to sort waste or compost leftovers.
JouleBug can also become a tool to initiate changes in your company and make your business more eco-friendly.
I hope my list of apps has inspired and motivated you to live more sustainably in 2026 and engage your friends and colleagues to do the same. Don’t forget to share your achievements and encourage others to help save the planet.
About the Creator
Alesia Chumakova
Hi! I'm Alesia, a decluttering and sustainability expert.
Over 5 years, I worked at a non-profit ecological organisation, focusing on green lifestyle and waste management.
I support ecological initiatives and promote sustainability.
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