We Care Eurobodalla

Project: Working with local businesses including food, accommodation and retail to reduce single-use plastic by helping them make the change to environmentally sustainable products and packaging.

Timeframe: July 2018 start, ongoing.

Funding: This project is funded by the NSW Environmental Trust.

Details

More and more, customers are responding to retailers that minimise their use of disposable plastic products and packaging.

For businesses that want to do the right thing for the environment and their customers, it can be time consuming and tricky to know where to start. Council can help.

We are working with local businesses to:

  • find environmentally-sustainable products that suit them
  • connect them with local suppliers
  • offer trial packs to test available products
  • brainstorm other creative ways businesses can reduce single-use and takeaway waste.

We Care is focusing on these major single-use items:

  • plastic straws
  • takeaway containers
  • plastic cutlery
  • disposable cups
  • disposable water bottles
  • toiletries
  • sachets
  • plastic bags

Single-use items are used once, then thrown away.

By reducing single-use items like these, local businesses show that they care about the environment, about Eurobodalla, and about their customers who want to make environmentally-conscious choices.

Become a business that cares

Any business can join the We Care Eurobodalla program at any time - they might already be taking steps to reduce their waste, or can start small by targeting just one item, like straws.

There are many reasons businesses benefit from becoming a member or a champion of this program:

  • Financial: As customers transition to reusable products, there is potential to reduce your waste production, and thus weekly rubbish collection costs, and also minimise orders of packaging products.
  • Social: Customers are increasingly expecting businesses to be sustainable and looking to support businesses who do the right thing. By participating in the We Care program, you will join a community of businesses coming together to make a difference.
  • Free promotion: Council can provide free signage and plaques that recognise participating businesses. Businesses will also be promoted through Council's communications channels.
  • Environmental: Participation reduces the carbon footprint of businesses, its contribution to landfill and marine pollution and contribute to keeping our beautiful beaches clean.
  • Support: We will work with businesses to provide information and resources on minimising disposable products and packaging, such as free ‘start-up’ packs, sourcing alternative products, and price comparisons from local suppliers.

It's not always easy to know where to start, and not every change has to cost money. You can use these checklists to quickly identify what you are already doing well, and get some ideas you could try out to reduce single-use waste:

Participating businesses

These businesses have been identified as either 'members' or 'champions' in the We Care Eurobodalla program, and have removed at least one or all five problem plastics:

These We Care champions have have removed all five problem plastics: plastic-lined coffee cups or milkshake cups, plastic bags, single-use straws, plastic cutlery and plastic takeaway containers:

  • Alfresco Coffee Roasters (Moruya)
  • Amateur Beekeeping Association (Moruya)
  • Amber's Café & Boutique Cakes (Batemans Bay)
  • Anchors Aweigh (Narooma)
  • Araluen Motor Lodge (Batemans Bay)
  • Batehaven Bakery (Batehaven)
  • Batemans Bay Icecream Parlour
  • Bay Blue Cafe (Batemans Bay)
  • Blue Earth (Bodalla)
  • Borrowed Ground (Moruya)
  • Bound to Earth (Narooma)
  • Broulee Brewhouse
  • Cartridge World (Batemans Bay)
  • Caseys Cafe (Narooma)
  • Church Street Pizzeria (Moruya)
  • Coastal Stationery (Moruya)
  • Corals (Narooma)
  • Courtyard Cafe Mogo
  • Curtis and Cloud (Moruya)
  • Dowry (Moruya)
  • Ella May Holiday Flats (Tuross Head)
  • Excell Printing (Batemans Bay)
  • Get Outside Congo
  • Good Folk (Moruya)
  • Grandpa's Garden Organics (Narooma)
  • Guerilla Roasters (Mossy Point)
  • Gundary Bakers (Moruya)
  • Jack & the Bean Store (Mogo)
  • Mami's Bar (Batemans Bay)
  • Mogo Big Day Out (Mogo)
  • Mogo Pies
  • Montys (Narooma)
  • Mossy Point Boat Ramp
  • Mr Bold Catering Co. (Narooma)
  • Mr Salubrious (Shire-wide)
  • Narooma Charters
  • Narooma New and Used
  • Nourish on North (Batemans Bay)
  • Red Door Hall Café (Moruya)
  • Rustic Pantry (Moruya)
  • Single Fin Canteen & Goods (Broulee)
  • Smokey Dan's (Tomakin)
  • South Brou Cafe (Broulee)
  • South Coast Community Kitchens (Moruya)
  • Southlands Butchery (Moruya)
  • Stingrays Ocean & Grill (Batemans Bay)
  • Super Natural Hair and Beauty (Malua Bay)
  • Surfbeach Cafe (Narooma)
  • The Bend and Sip Bar (Narooma)
  • The Bower (Broulee)
  • The FIX Coffee (Mossy Point)
  • The Mossy Cafe (Mossy Point)
  • The Sandbar (Batemans Bay)
  • The Venetian Italian Boutique Cafe & Coffee Roaster (Batemans Bay)
  • Three66 Espresso Bar (Mosquito Bay)
  • Wildflower Organics (Dalmeny)
  • Zippity Doo Playhouse & Cafe (Batemans Bay)

These businesses have implemented strategies to remove at least one of the five problem plastics:

  • Adelaide Hotel (Moruya)
  • AJ's Hotbake (Batemans Bay)
  • Amooran Oceanside (Narooma)
  • Batemans Bay Bakehouse
  • Bates General Store (Tilba)
  • Bodalla Bakery
  • Broulee Early Learning Centre
  • Broulee Primary School
  • Ccooks @ Corrigans Restaurant  (Batehaven)
  • Clyde View Holiday Park (Batehaven)
  • Coastal Comfort Motel (Narooma)
  • Corrigans Cove (Batehaven)
  • Dolphin Beach Caravan Park (Moruya Heads)
  • Finer Foods (Batemans Bay)
  • Grumpy and Sweetheart's (Mogo)
  • Heat Woodfired Pizza Bar (Batehaven)
  • Holiday Lodge Motor Inn (Narooma)
  • Industrial Café (Batemans Bay)
  • Kiah Seafood Cafe (Moruya)
  • Kitchen on the Bay (Batemans Bay)
  • Lakesea Park (South Durras)
  • Luhana Motel (Moruya)
  • Lynch’s Hotel (Narooma)
  • Mogo Village Café
  • Mogo Wildlife Park
  • Moruya Eats
  • Moruya Health Cafe
  • Moruya Jockey Club
  • Moruya Kebab Store
  • Moruya Motel
  • Moruya Waterfront Hotel Motel
  • Murramarang Resort (South Durras)
  • Ocean Breeze (Batehaven)
  • Ocean Grill On The Bay (Batemans Bay)
  • Pan Coffee House (Batemans Bay)
  • Pickled Octopus Seafood & Thai Cafe (Tuross Head)
  • Riverbreeze Holiday Park (Moruya)
  • Rolf's Patisserie (Narooma)
  • Shelleys Takeaway (Moruya)
  • Steampacket Hotel (Nelligen)
  • Suez Cafe (Moruya)
  • Surf Beach Cafe & Takeaway (Surf Beach)
  • Surf Beach Chinese
  • The Boatshed (Batemans Bay)
  • The Gardens Cafe - Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden (Mogo)
  • The Inlet (Narooma)
  • The Parlour (Moruya)
  • The Pearly Oyster Bar (Batemans Bay)
  • The Reading Room - Secondhand Bookshop Cafe (Moruya)
  • The Rivermouth General Store (Tomakin)
  • Tomakin Sports & Social Club (Tomakin)
  • Trappers Seafood & Steak Restaurant (Batemans Bay)
  • Tuross Boatshed & Cafe (Tuross)
  • The Whale Restaurant (Narooma)
  • Wrapaholics (Narooma)

Watch

Learn more about Council's We Care program.

Australia-wide initiatives

There are many programs focused on reducing single-use plastic in Australia by working with retailers and letting people know where they can find and support sustainable outlets. Check out:

  • Plastic Free Noosa: Retailers, community associations and councils working together to reduce single-use plastic.
  • Responsible Cafés: A network of cafés that encourage customers to use reusable coffee cups by offering a discount.
  • Plastic Free July: A challenge for consumers to avoid plastic for a whole month, then use what they have learned to make long-term changes to their single-use plastic habits.
  • The War on Waste: An ABC television show that examines the impacts of waste and ways we can all reduce our environmental footprint by making changes to our behaviour and consumer habits.
  • Travel Without Plastic: Tools and advice for hotels about how to reduce single-use plastic without compromising guest experience.
  • Plastic Fantastic: Check out the hotels who are leading the charge with single-use plastics.

Get involved

If you would like to get involved or if your business is already using sustainable packaging and would like to sign on as a plastic-free We Care champion, or member, contact Council's Sustainability Supervisor, Alexandra King, on: