Community Groups Work to Keep Ithaca Waste-Free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMswlUEfS5Y

As a 20-year resident of Ithaca, Yayoi Koizumi has a deep appreciation for the area’s natural beauty. When Koizumi moved here to pursue a doctorate in humanities and anthropology at Cornell, she brought with her a notion from her childhood in Japan: too good to waste.

“‘Waste not’ is a big concept in Japan, it's like a traditional concept. And there is actually a word for it. It's an adjective: It's too bad to waste,” Koizumi says.

With a childhood rooted in mindful use, she takes on her daily life with the same mindset.

“Partly because I'm a hiker. Like, I hike a lot … and it kind of hurts me, like you to see all the beautiful places being ruined. And I think there is a little bit too much trash out there.”

That's why Koizumi was inspired to start two community-based groups focused on positively impacting the local community: Zero-Waste Ithaca and Buy Nothing, Sell Nothing. Hosted on Facebook, both groups provide members with resources and community conversation on how to build small sustainability efforts into their lives.

Zero-Waste Ithaca

Zero-Waste Ithaca knows it takes long standing community effort in order to help the litter problem here in Ithaca. That's why the group hosts weekly clean up days aimed at getting people out in their communities to clean up waste and beautify public spaces. But the group isn’t just about picking up trash -- they work to inspire and help each other make meaningful changes in attainable ways.

Through the group’s Facebook pages, they plan activities and events aimed at keeping goods out of the landfill But it’s also a place where members can rant, rave and share

(Overflowing trash can in Downtown Ithaca

Photo by Madolyn Laurine)

“Somebody in the group suggested that we need a Buy Nothing group in Ithaca. Because it's very different from the other gift economies in terms of how it works.” A gift economy is a culture of gifting without an expectation for reward or trade in return. This concept is key to zero-waste initiatives, because it creates a welcoming space to gift used items.

Advocating for Sustainable Initiatives

When Koizumi isn’t organizing group activities, her work revolves around advocating for changes on a legal and corporate level. She recently started attending the Waste Reduction Committee of the Environmental Management Council.

Residents of Tompkins County are invited to participate in open committee meetings to share their thoughts and concerns, and propose initiatives. Koizumi is passionate about an idea to bring a reusable food container program to area restaurants and stores. Under the proposed initiative, Tompkins County would provide businesses with reusable containers for take-out food and operate an industrial dishwashing facility to clean and redistribute the containers.

(Zero Waste Ithaca Facebook Group. Screenshot courtesy of Facebook.)

“I think I want something done by the government, because I don't think that any one small business can do it. I feel like Ithaca is way behind other cities across the US which banned bottles and straws,” Koizumi says. “We haven't banned anything on our own, until the state said, ‘Hey, we're going to ban the bags.’ I think we're behind and it's kind of shameful, given that Ithaca is supposed to be a progressive city.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislators, major cities across the country have instituted plastic bag bans. In 2012, Seattle - at the time a city of roughly 600 thousand, banned plastic bags in major stores and limited use to food take-out. In 2018, Boston also banned the bag. California limited the use of plastic bags statewide in 2015, and the full ban was passed in 2016 with a 52% passing vote. In total, eight states banned plastic bags as of 2020, including New York.

While Koizumi recognizes the importance of fostering gifting economies and zero-waste mindsets in the Ithaca community, she also admits that individuals aren’t the main cause of global pollution.

“No matter how much we do individually,” Koizumi said, “[we have to] change the whole situation because it's the industries that's the largest polluters.”

According to the Climate Accountability Institute, the oil industry is a top driver of greenhouse gas pollutants. Twenty of the largest oil corporations are responsible for 35% of the world’s CO2 and methane emissions. Another major industry polluter is the textile industry, where 20% of the world’s wastewater comes from dying fabrics. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, nearly 87% of fabric produced for wear ends up in a landfill or incinerator.

By limiting what they buy and expanding what they gift and reuse, members of the Zero Waste group hope to offset some of those damages while advocating for smarter, more green legislation here in Ithaca.

Although some may find the change in lifestyle difficult to manage, Koizumi said she is living life enjoyably.

“So I think the best way is to refuse and buy nothing. And if I have to buy something, buy used, and try to buy nothing new. And, you know, I live like a queen.”

Reusable cloth face mask and an empty pack of cigarettes lays on the ground.

Photo by Madolyn Laurine