Isla Vista is a beautiful and naturally environmentally rich town, with a thriving sense of community and a multitude of social opportunities. Home to many college students, Isla Vista provides a place for all of us to enjoy the outdoors, and socialize with our peers in a close knit neighborhood. With this sense of community comes a lively party scene, and unfortunately an ensuing waste footprint that accompanies the inhabitants’ ability to enjoy the space. After fun-filled weekend activities, the streets of Isla Vista are often filled with trash, including recyclables (cans, plastic cups, plastic bottles), and e-waste, such as e-cigarettes, polluting the beautiful neighborhood we all desire to continue enjoying for years to come.

Seeking to make our community a more sustainable space, the Isla Vista Community Services District has many initiatives in place already, including drop off points for e-waste and bulky waste, the compost collection service, and resources to guide recycling habits. However, we as the community are not utilizing these resources in an efficient manner. The magnitude of the ecological impact created by the Isla Vista party scene has surpassed the current system, and necessitates change in order to sustain the beautiful community we inhabit.

We are requesting that the Isla Vista Community Services District, specifically the President, Marcos Aguilar, enact a new system to facilitate the upkeep of our community’s streets and to prevent negative impacts on the surrounding environment. We think that the IVCSD should provide waste collection points within the main roads of Isla Vista during weekends so that students have a place to dispose of waste in its various forms, including e-waste and recycling, in order to prevent littering in our community. These collection points should be large, placed in clear sight of passerby, and should be frequent along the main party roads (Del Playa, Sabado Tarde, Pasado, and Greek row). This initiative would circumvent many accessibility barriers to proper waste disposal, and allow us all to collectively do our part to keep our community clean and sustainable for years to come.