The Commons vs Bright Sparqe

The Commons application that lets members connect, plan events and book meeting rooms.

Bright Sparqe is a registered not for profit charitable organisation that developed the Share and Share Alike platform with the objective to introduce a circular economy. The platform redistributes and re-purposes brand new products and unused food that will be available to be collected by charities assisting our most vulnerable community members and farmers. Rather than seeing excess items ending up as waste in landfill with the aim to reduce the expenditure associated with waste management. The platform was developed to support Bright Sparqe's objective of reducing waste and assisting our most vulnerable community members and farmers by allowing all types of businesses to donate brand new products and unused perishable and non-perishable foods putting it in the hands of charities and farmers who need it. The platform is available in Australia within all states and territories and will be deployed internationally. The platform connects businesses to charities and farmers who can accept donations. Businesses submit the brand-new products and unused food they wish to donate on the platform. Once an item is submitted to the platform it will be made available to charities and farmers to browse, claim and collect. Charities or farmers can access and collect donations in real-time within their radius. Donors can also opt to select their nominated partner via the preferred charity/farmer function. The preferred charity/farmer will have 30 minutes to either accept or dismiss the donation. The item donated will be locked until a decision is made or the time has expired. If the charity or farmer dismisses the offer, it will then be released for all charities to have the opportunity to claim the donation. All charities and farmers will need to monitor the platform whether on the mobility device or on their desktop through their web-browser via www.brightsparqe.org, for donations they can commit in collecting on the date and time required by the donor and any special collection instructions, by only accepting goods that are new and food that is unused. The donated product will provide the following: details the donor’s business name, address, contact person, contact number, and any specific collection notes will be made available for the charity or farmer in readiness for their collection of the donation. For perishable food all donors and charities must adhere to the Food Act and the Australian, New Zealand Food Standards Code including providing its risk rating and any food allergens and intolerance’s. The platform is available to retailers internationally for example, supermarkets, hotels and motels, cafés and restaurants, service stations, airlines, catering, corporate and government organisations, bakeries, fashion retailers, media outlets, supply and logistics organisations, construction, tertiary educational institutes etc. and all non-for-profit organisations (charities) and farmers. All donated products will provide the following: details, the date and time of when the donation can be collected, the location, the donor contact person, any special instructions and for unused food any allergens and intolerances to ensure the charity or farmer who accepts the product can in-turn ensure the unused food can be consumed. At all times the donor, charity and farmer must adhere to the Bright Sparqe terms and conditions and ensure due care has been exercised by the donor (and any related parties) when handling, storing and packing the goods. Charities and Farmers cannot resell products collected. For unused food everyone involved in the handling of the goods has maintained the highest standards of personal hygiene and cleanliness. They must comply with all relevant laws, policies and food safety standards in connection with the handling of the food (including, without limitation, the Food Act 1984 (Vic)), the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code and the Food Safety Standards.