Five Tips for Going Green in Downtown York
/Go Green in the City, a Downtown Inc annual signature event and family-fun festival, highlights healthy, green and local living with more than 60 vendors, food, live music, and interactive activities. We hope you can join us for our 2023 event from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, April 22!
Here are 5 easy tips to ‘go green’ year-round in Downtown York.
Shop Local and bring your own bags
The fresh produce, meats, cheeses, eggs, home goods, and artisanal body products have often traveled only a few blocks or miles to get to the stands of Downtown York’s farmer’s markets, making the markets a center for sustainability, unlike shopping with national chains which require products to be shipped across the globe. Consider the mesh French Market Bag from Revolt Style Studio for seasonal produce purchases and the canvas York Totes from the York Flea to make your next Downtown York market trip waste-free.
Central Market-Open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
Penn Market-Open Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday
York Fresh Food Farms Mobile Produce Market-check the website for the 2023 Mobile Produce schedule
Walk, bike, or use public transportation
Downtown York is easily walkable between the three micro-districts which makes living, working, and playing safe and fun for all. Many Downtown York businesses are bike-friendly, too. So, opt to walk or bike from point A to point B while visiting, or leave the car behind and utilize the convenient and cost-effective public transportation options.
Greyhound Bus: 53 E North St.
rabittransit Downtown Transfer Center: 213 W. King St.
Use the newly-installed King Street Bike Lane to traverse the City (East-West) in a bike-only designated on-street track.
Enjoy the Outdoors
Did you know Downtown York is one of seven York County Trail Towns? This means we are a community alongside the York Heritage Rail Trail that welcomes long-distance bikers, families, casual walkers, runners, and even pets!
Outdoor recreation provided by the many parks of York City are integral in preserving air quality and increasing the environmental health of the community and residents.
Visit a Downtown York park: Cherry Lane Park, Foundry Plaza, Heritage Rail Trail, Penn Park, Thackston Park, Westminster Park
Opt for reusable products
Reusing an old jar as a travel mug or cutting a dingy t-shirt into kitchen rags may seem like Great Depression era tips and tricks, but these methods, among many others, have worked their way back as ways to reduce waste and reuse what we already have. Refillism (38 S. Beaver St.) is a refill and zero waste shop that offers eco-friendly, refillable zero waste lifestyle products. Buy a container or bring your own and refill it with anything from toothpaste powder to cleaners.
Save ‘That Good York Water’
PA American Water, a 2023 Go Green in the City ‘Water Sponsor, they are committed to saving water and protecting the environment, and you can help by implementing these water-saving tips:
Place a weighted water bottle in your toilet tank to save up to five gallons of water every day without harming the efficiency of the toilet
Install a water-saving showerhead and turn off the water while shaving for even more efficiency.
Water your garden during the cool parts of the day, like dawn or dusk. This prevents burning and fungus growth.