Zero Waste Ithaca

05/28/2026

After students left campus, Cornell University has begun installing plastic turf at Meinig Fieldhouse while the public still has not received basic product and testing information, including the exact turf model, PFAS testing protocol, lab report, detection limits, sampled components, or chain-of-custody documentation. A few people at the site reported a noticeable chemical-like odor during installation.

Approval first. Disclosure later is not meaningful environmental review.

05/25/2026

What’s the McPlaybook? 🍔🥤🍟 ➡️ 🗑️ by The Story of Stuff Project

Since the 50s, McDonald's deliberately ushered in a throwaway era by pushing single-use disposables, bankrolling biased studies, using big-budget marketing and unleashing armies of lobbyists and PR spin doctors. All this to steer the public towards a throwaway culture that harms our planet and our health, and lines their pockets…and all the while dodging responsibility and regulations proposed by lawmakers in the 1980s and now again in the 2020s.

Watch now and uncover the truth in the investigative short documentary “McPlaybook: How McDonald’s Built a Disposable Society” on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPAA8m1zdfc

05/22/2026

🌿 New Reuse Partner Alert! 🌿

We’re excited to welcome Jojo Cook to our BYO program 🎉 Look for two vintage stickers at their storefront for Bring Your Own and Skip the Stuff!

🍽️ What does this mean?
✅ Customers are encouraged to BYO (Bring Your Own) containers for takeout drinks, cutting down on unnecessary single-use packaging.
✅ Skip the Stuff! Unless requested, Jojo Cook won’t automatically provide utensils, napkins, condiments, or straws, helping keep single-use plastics out of our lives.

Check out 100+ participating businesses in ZWI's Reuse Business Network: https://www.zerowasteithaca.org/map

By bringing your own cup or container, you’re protecting both your health and the environment. 🌎

💚 A big thank you to the owner, Jhoanna (“Jojo”), for joining ZWI’s Reuse Business Network and helping make reuse more accessible in the Trumansburg / Ithaca community!

✨ Haven’t been to Jojo Cook yet?
Jojo serves foods inspired by her Salvadoran-Puerto Rican heritage and Texas upbringing, with flavorful homemade dishes and drinks that bring together comfort, culture, and local ingredients. At Earth Care Day at the Trumansburg Farmers’ Market, ZWI members Barb and Yayoi especially loved her horchata, a creamy, nutty Salvadoran drink made with toasted nuts, seeds, and spices.

Stop by, say hi to Jojo, and support small local businesses that make Ithaca and Trumansburg so special.

Check out their website: Jojo Cook Website
Follow them on Instagram:
Follow them on Facebook: Jojo Cook Facebook




BYO - US Reduces

05/22/2026

🌿 New Reuse Partner Alert! 🌿

We’re excited to welcome to our BYO program 🎉 Look for two vintage stickers at their storefront for Bring Your Own and Skip the Stuff!

🍽️ What does this mean?

✅ Customers are encouraged to BYO (Bring Your Own) containers for takeout drinks, cutting down on unnecessary single-use packaging.
✅ Skip the Stuff! Unless requested, Jojo Cook won’t automatically provide utensils, napkins, condiments, or straws, helping keep single-use plastics out of our lives.

Check out 100+ participating businesses in ZWI’s Reuse Business Network: https://www.zerowasteithaca.org/map

By bringing your own cup or container, you’re protecting both your health and the environment. 🌎

💚 A big thank you to the owner, Jhoanna (“Jojo”), for joining ZWI’s Reuse Business Network and helping make reuse more accessible in the Trumansburg / Ithaca community!

✨ Haven’t been to Jojo Cook yet?

Jojo serves foods inspired by her Salvadoran-Puerto Rican heritage and Texas upbringing, with flavorful homemade dishes and drinks that bring together comfort, culture, and local ingredients.

At Earth Care Day at the Trumansburg Farmers’ Market, ZWI members Barb and Yayoi especially loved her horchata, a creamy, nutty Salvadoran drink made with toasted nuts, seeds, and spices.

Stop by, say hi to Jojo, and support small local businesses that make Ithaca and Trumansburg so special.

Check out their website: Jojo Cook Website
Follow them on Instagram:
Follow them on Facebook: Jojo Cook Facebook

BringYourOwn SkipTheStuff
IthacaNY Ithaca SupportLocalBusiness

05/20/2026

From pipeline projects to toxic transport disasters like East Palestine, communities are too often asked to bear the risks while corporations externalize the costs.

Allies are asking New Yorkers to support this petition opposing the Constitution Pipeline, which New York previously denied because of serious water-quality concerns.

Please read, sign, and share.

The proposed Constitution Pipeline has been revived, but communities across and are ready to stop it once and for all.

This dangerous pipeline would cross more than 250 waterways, threaten local ecosystems and economies, and lock communities into more fossil fuel infrastructure despite years of overwhelming public opposition and no demonstrated economic need.

New York made the right decision in 2016. That decision should stand.

Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-constitution-pipeline?source=direct_link&referrer=group-center-for-oil-and-gas-organizing

05/19/2026

Greenpeace’s new Plastic House Challenge Report makes clear that plastic pollution is not just “out there” in oceans and landfills - it is in our kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, food, air, and bodies, and it will take corporate accountability and strong policy to move from toxic throwaway plastic to safe reuse and refill systems. Read the full report here: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/plastic-house-challenge/

05/15/2026

Heading to the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance?

Bring your own: cup, utensils, container, and napkin.

BYO is the easiest way to cut waste at the festival. It only works if we all remember to bring our own.

We’ll be at the Zero Waste Ithaca table all four days in the sustainability area. Stop by and show us your BYO item and get free stickers, prizes, and more.

If you want to get involved, we’re also looking for volunteers to help run the table.

👉 Sign up for volunteering here: https://forms.gle/ACLeaUTQpRGNethf9

05/13/2026

Thank you again to Senator Webb for this recognition. We were honored to see our founder and executive director, Yayoi Koizumi, receive the New York State Senate Commendation Award in recognition of work connected to Zero Waste Ithaca. We appreciated the opportunity to speak about the connection between waste reduction, public health, and protecting the land and waters that sustain us.

Importantly, this recognition also reflects the steady work of many organizers, volunteers, supporters, and community members who have helped move ZWI's work forward. Thank you.

05/11/2026

Zero Waste Ithaca is sharing this because PVC is not just a “plastic” issue. It is a toxic production, use, and disposal issue, with serious impacts on workers, frontline communities, public health, and the environment. Real waste reduction means moving away from toxic materials at the source.

Please read and support this campaign.

As we approach The Home Depot's annual shareholder meeting on May 21, frontline leaders from across the country are calling on The Home Depot to lead the industry away from toxic PVC plastic.

Many of the advocates pictured live with the daily consequences of vinyl production and disposal, from polluted air and water in their communities to serious illnesses like cancer that may be linked to chemical exposure.

Safer alternatives to PVC already exist. To protect the health of these frontline communities, The Home Depot must restrict PVC in its packaging and lead the industry toward safer alternatives!

Read more at the link in comments!