Students have always been part of the heart and soul of Zero Waste Ithaca.
We welcome students from Cornell, Ithaca College, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Ithaca High School, LACS and more who want to get involved with us in real local environmental work. We especially welcome students who are justice-oriented, curious, reliable, creative, and ready to do meaningful work in the community beyond a class assignment.
Zero Waste Ithaca is a grassroots, volunteer-powered community organization working on waste reduction, reuse, environmental justice, local policy, public accountability, and corporate responsibility. Through reuse, sharing, and local organizing, we also help build a more connected and resilient community.
If you are frustrated by greenwashing, false solutions, disposable culture, or the gap between institutional promises and real accountability, there is a place for you here.
Ways Students Can Help
We welcome students interested in:
- Environmental law and policy
- Local government and public comments
- Research and fact-checking
- Journalism, writing, and editing
- Website support and digital tools
- Social media and graphic design
- Newsletter writing
- Event organizing and tabling
- Reuse and Bring Your Own policy
- Environmental justice
- Community outreach
- Long-term campaign work
There is a lot to do. Students who want serious experience can grow with us, take leadership, build skills, and help shape the future of the organization.
The Best Way to Join Us
The best way to collaborate is simple: get involved, show up, learn the work, and build a relationship.
We especially value students who attend meetings, stay involved, take responsibility, and recruit and help pass the work to younger students before graduating. Many of our issues do not begin and end in one semester, or even during one student’s years in Ithaca. Strong student involvement depends on continuity.
Interested student groups are encouraged to send one or two regular representatives to our meetings, share their work, report back to their group, and bring our feedback into their work.
Class Projects and Research Requests
We may consider class projects, research projects, or student organization projects when they are clearly aligned with our work and produce something useful for the organization and the Ithaca community.
Before asking us to support a class project, research project, or student organization project, please share:
- What you are asking from us.
- The class, professor or faculty advisor, and project title, if any.
- The assignment prompt or syllabus, if relevant.
- Why you want to work with Zero Waste Ithaca specifically.
- How much time you expect from us.
- What final product you will produce.
- How the project will support our organization and benefit the Ithaca community.
- Whether you will share the final product with us.
- Your timeline and deadline.
We ask for this information so we can understand the educational context, assess alignment with our mission, and avoid projects that conflict with our work or misrepresent complex zero waste issues.
Because we are volunteer-powered, we generally cannot prioritize last-minute requests, generic “sustainability lifestyle” projects, or projects where the final product will not be shared with us.
We love students who want to be part of the work. If you are looking for meaningful, justice-oriented environmental work and a community to grow with, we would love to hear from you. We especially encourage students to get involved early, stay connected, and help carry the work forward during and beyond their years in Ithaca.