Sustainability

Overview

The Town of Ithaca is committed to being a leader in sustainability.  The Town’s Green New Deal aims for an equitable transition to carbon-neutrality town-wide by 2030, recognizing there will be multiple benefits besides greenhouse gas reduction, including improved community health and economic vitality.

Sustainability News

Town Hosting Community Tree Planting Event on October 14th

The Town of Ithaca will be hosting a community tree planting event on Saturday, October 14th from 9:30 am – 11:30 am at the East Ithaca Nature Preserve.  Residents and community groups are encouraged to attend the event. Trees sequester carbon, supporting the Town’s Green New Deal goal of an equitable transition to carbon neutrality Town-wide by 2030.

LED Streetlight Upgrade Near Completion – August 11, 2022

The Town recently purchased its approximately 270 streetlights from NYSEG and is upgrading them to LED technology, cutting GHG emissions and lighting costs dramatically. As of August 11, 2022, construction is all but complete. If you have questions, comments, or want to report a streetlight issue, contact Public Works at publicworks@town.ithaca.ny.us or 607-273-1656.

New Curbside Recycling Guidelines Brochure – June 27, 2022

The new 2022-2023 Tompkins County Curbside Recycling Guidelines brochure is now available here. The brochure is produced by the Tompkins County Department of Recycling and Materials Management and covers the 12-month period from July 2022 through June 2023.

In March 2020, the Town of Ithaca adopted a Green New Deal resolution by unanimous vote of the Town Board. The main goal of the Town’s Green New Deal is to achieve an equitable transition to carbon-neutrality Town-wide by 2030. The Town also set two goals for its own operations to be met by 2025: to meet the electricity needs of Town government operations with 100% regionally sourced renewable electricity and to reduce emissions from the Town fleet of vehicles by 50%.