Home >Environment >The Watershed >Business Program

Business Program

Business on King StThe Watershed works with local businesses on community based environmental initiatives, and offers support and advice on becoming more sustainable.

What can we do for your business?

  • Provide one on one advice & solutions to improve environmental performance and cut costs
  • Facilitate partnerships
  • Promote local businesses with good environmental performance
  • Connect you to programs, grants and incentives available to your business
  • Provide tools for your business to conduct a self-assessment checklist (download below)
  • Connect you with other Watershed Programs (workshops, volunteering, shopfront, reference library etc)
  • Involve you in free, community based environmental initiatives that build customer loyalty and boost the environmental reputation of your business

Business Environmental Best Practice Kits

Contact us to receive a free Watershed Business Environmental Best Practice Kit, or download the contents here:

Community Based Environmental Initiatives for Business

Local businesses in the Newtown area are invited to participate in our free, community based environmental initiatives:

Bagbusters Bagshare in Newtown

Reduce the use of plastic bags! Many people have extra reusable shopping bags at home that can be donated to the Newtown Bagshare.

Businesses who join the program make available a supply of Bagshare bags inside the store. Customers who forget to bring their own shopping bag can use a Bagshare Bag, which can be returned to The Watershed or to the retailer where they borrowed the bag.

As a business, the BagShare allows you to cut costs and help the environment by giving reusable bags to your customers for free.  The Watershed will visit your business weekly to ensure you have a steady supply of clean BagShare bags.  If your business would like to participate by collecting and/or distributing BagShare bags, contact The Watershed on 9519 6366 or watershedbiz@marrickville.nsw.gov.au.

No Butts in Newtown

Cigarette butts form up to 50% of litter, are highly toxic and take many years to break down. They pose a major threat to marine life as they enter the stormwater system.

The Watershed’s butt littering reduction program addresses this issue by providing smokers with free portable ashtrays to ‘bin your butts’.

Since 2004 over 70 local businesses along King Street and Enmore Road have partnered with The Watershed to distribute these personal ashtrays to the community. The ashtrays are made from recycled film canisters and more than 45,000 have been given away to date.  The Watershed continues to stock and maintain Butt Bin dispensers in a number of retailers in the Newtown area.

Real estate initiative

For real estate agents, The Watershed can provide materials to help prevent illegal dumping.  We can supply fliers and fridge magnets for you to include in your welcome and leaving packs to new and departing tenants.  The ‘Welcome to the Neighbourhood’ fridge magnet provides waste disposal alternatives for new tenants. The ‘Moving’ flier provides handy tips on how tenants can dispose of any unwanted material before they move out.  These materials are free for local real estate agents, help keep our streets clean of rubbish, and build your reputation as an environmental leader.

Download:

  • Welcome to the Neighbourhood (PDF, 102KB)
  • Moving Flyer (PDF, 114KB)
  • For more information about waste disposal and recycling services available in your local area,contact your local council.

    Reusable coffee cups initiative

    For local cafés, The Watershed can provide a limited number of free travel mugs to reward customers who bring a reusable mug for their daily coffee. 

    How it works:

    1. Display a poster and loyalty card provided by The Watershed in your café encouraging customers to bring their own cup for takeaway coffee
    2. Each time a customer brings their own cup, stamp their loyalty card
    3. After 10 stamps, customers collect their free travel mug from The Watershed (Participating cafés don’t even need to store the reward).

    Participating cafés can save money by using fewer throw away cups while demonstrating commitment to the environment and promoting customer loyalty.

    Business links