The goal of this website is to encourage green purchasing practices by providing consumers (residents, businesses, and other organizations) with the information necessary to buy products that protect our health and our environment. Included is a regularly updated database of product information, complete with product names, green attributes and the local supplier.

The database of green products is constantly growing. After completing the Office Supplies sector, we moved onto Cleaning Supplies and then Yard and Garden Supplies. Our most recently launched category is Maintenance Supplies. We hope you enjoy exploring this site. Please check back regularly as new products and stores are added.

The Advisory Committee for Finger Lakes Buy Green provides guidance to Solid Waste Management staff developing and maintaining the site, and helps make decisions about what products to include. Committee members represent the major bulk purchasers in the Ithaca community (including Cornell, Ithaca College, Tompkins County, City of Ithaca, and local school districts), as well as the business sector and sustainability advocates. Committee members have a diverse background, with a range of expertise from environmental education to procurement. For more information about the Advisory Committee, please visit our biography page.

Finger Lakes Buy Green has been developed through a partnership between Tompkins County Solid Waste Management and Sustainable Tompkins with support from the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses.

Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division’s mission is to help our community reduce solid waste through recycling, reuse, green purchasing and waste reduction.This is accomplished through programs, operations and financial incentives. We began our work in 1989 after the County closed two old landfills and began developing a 20-year solid waste management plan. We offer residential and small business curbside recycling, a Recycling and Solid Waste Center, a Household Hazardous Waste Depot, a business waste reduction program called ReBusiness Partners, a green purchasing website, and various educational programs with local non-profit partners. We are in the planning process of developing a reuse center for household goods, office equipment and building materials.

Sustainable Tompkins is a coalition of citizens, community organizations, elected officials, educators and professionals from diverse fields all working to promote a more sustainable community. Growing out of a study circle process with community leaders in early 2004, our initiatives include promoting green buildings and sustainable development patterns, conducting small group inquiry into the roots of our consumer culture, creating new partnerships to promote healthier lifestyles, and reaching out to the business community to encourage and facilitate energy conservation, recycling, green purchasing, and the adoption of sustainable technologies.