From Food Waste To Vegan Dining, These 6 Hong Kong Apps Help You Go Green

Hong Kong is famous for its impressive skyscrapers, but sustainability is picking up speed in the concrete jungle. With climate and environmental awareness on the rise, more and more Hongkongers are choosing to go plastic-free and changing their diets for the planet. And now, there’s a whole batch of phone apps helping drive the green movement forward, from fighting food waste to promoting reusables. 

Whether you’re looking for new ways to lower your carbon footprint, or just dabbling with the idea of becoming more eco-friendly in Hong Kong, these 6 sustainability apps are ones to check out.

1. Phenix

Phenix is on a mission to rescue the 3,600 tonnes of food that gets thrown away in Hong Kong every single day. Launched by OnTheList, the popular rescued fashion platform, together with French startup Phenix, the app lets Hong Kong residents purchase food that would otherwise be landfilled with steep discounts. This way, businesses can gain some extra revenue, while consumers get to pay less for saving surplus food. 

Read more about Phenix Hong Kong here.

2. Chomp

Chomp is another app dedicated to fighting food waste in Hong Kong. On the app, users are connected to F&B businesses across the city who need their help to rescue extra food, of course, at major discounts. Customers can search for deals nearby, as well as buy one of Chomp’s “Mystery Boxes” filled with packaged foods that are unsold and have a short shelf-life from a range of different brands. 

3. My Impact

My Impact app helps Hong Kong residents track their disposable plastic usage and reduction efforts. Launched by local charity EcoDrive, users can measure how much plastic they are using (or not using), and is designed to raise awareness about how much plastic we really use on a daily basis. On the app, users can even challenge their friends to plastic reduction targets, or join a community of people supporting each other on their plastic-free journeys. Aside from tracking plastic consumption, My Impact lets people search for nearby anti-plastic campaigns such as beach clean-ups. 

Read more about My Impact here. 

4. Soo where to eat

Soo where to eat, also known as 找素 (literally meaning “find vegetarian”), is an app helping Hong Kongers get their meatless fix. On the app, users can scroll across the map of Hong Kong to find plant-based restaurants nearest to them, as well as vegan shops and grocery stores. Information about whether there are vegan, Buddhist-friendly or ovo-vegetarian dishes and products are provided under each listing, as well as the establishments’ operating hours and how to contact the restaurant directly for more questions. 

Read more about Soo where to eat here.

5. Breadline

Breadline is an app that diverts unsold bread to charities and people in need. The food waste-fighting app was launched by HKFoodWorks, a research group focused on making Hong Kong’s food system more sustainable, and it connects bakeries across the city with people on the app who are willing to volunteer to collect and redirect leftover bread to charities. After each “bread run” users go on, the app tracks the impact that they have directly made on combating food waste in Hong Kong. 

Read more about Breadline here. 

6. Circularcity 

Circularcity is an Asia-wide initiative that also operates in Hong Kong, assisting the city on its circular economy transition. The app provides reusable cups to businesses in Hong Kong, replacing the need to use disposable plastic packaging. Customers simply tap their Octopus cards to track that they have “borrowed” a reusable cup, and return the cup anytime at one of Circularcity’s designated smart return stations or drop-off points at partner outlets, and scan the cup on the app before sending it off. Circularcity then shows users the impact they have had over time by ditching single-use and switching to reusables.

Lead image courtesy of Phenix by OnTheList.