Asami Osato

Waste Management

November 27, 2013

Recycling in Isla Vista

The waste problem in Isla Vista is no secret. In our 0.6 square mile town, there are

approximately 23,000 residents, mostly consisting of college students from UCSB or SBCC. On

weekends, when “out-of-towners” come to party, the population can explode to 30,000 or

40,000. Mix the high population density with heavy partying and you get lots and lots of trash.

On a Saturday night on Del Playa, you’ll see empty bottles of alcohol and leftover food

packaging discarded carelessly all over the streets. The next morning, it’s all gone—cans

collected by “can fairies” and trash picked up by daily volunteers. However, this irresponsible

behavior leads to a much bigger problem: poor recycling practices. It seems as though students in

Isla Vista don’t feel the need to recycle because the can collectors do it for them. This paper

discusses the situation in Isla Vista, why proper recycling will benefit our community, and what

we can do to change it.

First, let’s take a look at UCSB. The University of California system has set a zero waste

goal by 2020. “Zero Waste” means designing products to eliminate the volume and toxicity of

waste, recover all resources, and not bury or burn them. A zero waste facility is one that diverts

at least 90 percent of its waste from the landfill and into composting or recycling. For the 2012-

2013 fiscal year, UCSB had a landfill diversion rate of 70.1 percent and the university is getting

closer to that goal of 90 percent diversion. To do this, UCSB has implemented a composting

program. Students now have to make the decision on what type of waste they have, and they are

provided with information on the bins of what constitutes compost, landfill, or recycling. All of

the Dining Commons at UCSB now compost 100 percent of pre and post consumer food. The

University Center implemented a policy for eateries to use only compostable serviceware, and all

coffee shops on campus must sell their coffee in compostable cups. In addition, UCSB worked

with MarBorg Industries and Engle & Gray to establish a composting program on campus, run

by AS Recycling. The program receives about 40 tons a month of food scraps and organic waste

that otherwise would have gone to the landfill. Furthermore, the Zero Waste Committee is

working on its Towels2Trees Project, which creates a campus-wide system of composting paper

towels thrown away in UCSB bathrooms.

All of these initiatives allow students to make a conscious decision when disposing their

waste. According to Matt O’Carroll, the Refuse, Recycling, & Water Efficiency Manager at

UCSB, the BigBelly receptacles force individuals to interact with the units, which has had a

positive impact on reducing contamination in the waste streams. Pairing more landfill and

recycling receptacles together around campus has also led to increased recycling rates, so it

reveals students are generally aware of how to separate recyclables.

Now walk a couple of steps away from campus, cross Pardall tunnel, and enter Isla Vista.

Even though IV is just across the street from UCSB, it is an entirely different scene when it

comes to waste management. In IV, students don’t even recycle. This is evident when you peek

behind apartments: big cardboard boxes and junk mail that should obviously be recycled

commonly end up in the trash bins. 60 percent of IV is inhabited by UCSB students, the same

students who separate recyclables and compostables on campus. Why can’t they do the same

thing at their homes? But before we look at the possible reasons behind this, I’ll explain the

waste management process in Isla Vista.

First of all, it is important to remember that Isla Vista is not a city. Isla Vista is one of the

“unincorporated areas” of Santa Barbara County. This means IV is not a part of the city of

Goleta or Santa Barbara, nor does it belong to UCSB. Santa Barbara County has set up an

extremely simple recycling program for the residents in unincorporated areas of the county,

including Isla Vista. The “commingled” recycling system allows residents to place all

recyclables in one container for pick up. So residents only have two options when it comes to

sorting trash, compared to the three options on campus. It seems relatively simple, but in reality

IV residents struggle to recycle. MarBorg Industries comes to Isla Vista six days a week to pick

up after residents: dumpster service is provided every day, residential trash is picked up on

Tuesdays and Fridays, and recycling is picked up every other Friday. In addition, every

Wednesday MarBorg picks up bulky items on the curb, like mattresses and couches abandoned

by residents. This is unique to Isla Vista; all other areas in the county only get trash pick-up once

a week. The County and MarBorg realized that in order to keep Isla Vista relatively clean, once a

week just wasn’t going to cut it. So just how much trash does IV produce?

On Tuesday, November 12th, MarBorg Industries picked up about 1500 containers of

residential waste and dumped 10.7 tons of trash in the landfill. Three days later on Friday

November 18th, 9.0 tons of waste was dumped in the landfill and 4.7 tons of recyclables went to a

recycling facility. On Wednesday November 13th, 3.1 tons of bulky items were picked up—2.17

tons were sorted out as recycling and 0.93 tons went to the landfill. In total, in one week Isla

Vista produced 20.56 tons of municipal solid waste and 6.86 tons of recycling, without counting

the dumpsters. This comes out to a mere 25 percent diversion rate. Obviously, this number is

extremely low. 25 percent diversion is where Santa Barbara County was in 1995; now the county

is diverting over 70 percent. So, Isla Vista currently does less than half of what the rest of the

county is doing when it comes to landfill diversion. In California, Assembly Bill 939 required a

50 percent diversion rate from the landfill by 2000. That law was established in 1989. In 2011,

Assembly Bill 341 pushed up that number to 75 percent by 2020. So, the amount of trash we are

producing in relation to our recycling is illegal; we aren’t reaching the goals set by California 24

years ago. UCSB diverts 70 percent of its waste and IV only diverts 25 percent. Why is the

difference so huge? 60 percent of Isla Vista residents are UCSB students, according to IV Foot

Patrol. If UCSB students participated in recycling at home like they did on campus, surely we

could increase the diversion rate to at least 50 percent. Why do students participate in these

practices on campus, but not in their homes in Isla Vista?

The first possible explanation could be a lack of information. It is possible that IV

residents just don’t know what to recycle, so they throw it all in the trash. But didn’t we all learn

about recycling in elementary school? The problem with recycling in California is that the laws

vary by city, which can make it confusing for people. For example, bubble wrap and plastic bags

can be recycled in Santa Barbara County, but not in the City of San Jose. When students moved

into Isla Vista, they may have been confused between different recycling rules, eventually giving

up on recycling. A lack of information could be part of the problem.

Another explanation for our wasteful practices could be the “magical” street clean ups.

Anybody who lives in Isla Vista knows that they can rely on the “beer fairies” to pick up their

empty bottles and cans overnight and residents often hear these can collectors digging through

dumpsters and bins throughout the day. These people look for recyclable items in the trash or

wherever they are located, often on the streets. A lot of them are homeless or cannot find a well-

paying job, some are as old as 70, and some are even disabled. They collect anything with a

California Redemption Value (CRV), and redeem it for cash at the Isla Vista Recycling Center: 5

cents for glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans, and 10 cents for those larger than 24

ounces. Jon Espinoza who works at the Isla Vista Recycling Center says that 90 percent of what

they get is alcohol related, 9 percent is water bottles, and the rest is soda. A documentary filmed

last year in IV follows Estella, a mother of three, who collects cans every day to feed her family

because her husband does not have a steady job. Estella discusses how she is grateful when

students are friendly and hand her cans while she is collecting, but students are often rude to her

which makes her feel sad. By throwing CRV items like cans in the recycling bin instead of the

trash or setting them off to the side for the collectors, students can make collecting easier.

Espinoza puts it simply: “If we didn’t have can collectors, IV would look like a dump.”

The can collectors are not the only ones picking up after irresponsible students. The

Adopt-a-Block program was created in 1996 funded by UCSB, the County of Santa Barbara, and

Goleta West Sanitary District. The program was created when Goleta West Sanitary District was

unable to continue street sweeping due to the numbers of cars parked on the streets. Now that

UCSB and the County pulled out their funding, the program relies on volunteers, mostly UCSB

students who need volunteer hours to fulfill their requirements for fraternities or clubs.

Monday through Saturday, Adam Porte patrols the streets every morning and makes note

of areas that need the most cleaning. The number of volunteers vary; he usually gets around

seven volunteers on an average day, but sometimes nobody shows up, and he picks up the streets

by himself. Porte reports that most of the trash on the streets are food containers, red cups, and

cigarette butts. Ever since 7-11 opened, he has seen a huge increase in the amount of trash left on

the streets. Half-finished Slurpee cups, ketchup stained hot dog boxes, and greasy pizza

containers line the curb. Although Porte does his best to separate and recycle, not all volunteers

are educated and it is difficult to make sure the trash is sorted properly. Interestingly, Adopt-a-

block volunteers almost never see cans on the streets because the can collectors are so efficient.

Perhaps the combination of these two systems creates irresponsible students who do not

feel the need to pick up after themselves. However, this is not a valid reason to expunge all

recycling responsibilities to the volunteers. Furthermore, the can collectors do not recycle the

paper that they find in dumpsters, so a lot of what can be recycled ends up in the landfill.

One can argue that Isla Vista does not have the facilities that UCSB has. This is true, but

it is not an excuse for inaction. All apartment houses in Isla Vista are required to have recycling

available for tenants. For those students that do not have recycling bins, they can call their

landlord and ask for one. It would not make sense to implement a composting program in IV if

residents do not recycle.

After our waste is put inside the bins, MarBorg Industries takes care of the rest. Landfill

waste is picked up weekly while recycling is picked up biweekly. Landfill waste, after being

rolled out and dumped inside a truck, is then directly sent to Tajiguas Landfill, about 20 minutes

north of IV. The landfill is located on the Gaviota Coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and is

considered the prettiest and most expensive landfill in California. The landfill, operated by Santa

Barbara County, has been expanded several times to accommodate the growing population. The

old landfill was where Elings Park currently is located, and was used until 1977 when it became

full. Tajiguas landfill can process about 1,500 tons of trash per day, and charges $82 per ton.

This fee, however, will likely to increase to $97 per ton due to ambitious Santa Barbara County

solid waste planners. The reason for the high cost is due to expansionary costs, and the problem

of seagulls going through the trash. In order to combat the seagulls, the landfill uses falcons to

keep them away.

Recycling is sent directly to David Love Place Recycling Center located in Goleta. When

the commingled recycling is dropped off, it goes through a sorting line and the different

materials are sorted into groups. The groups are then sent to different facilities that recover

materials, like Long Beach. When recyclables are contaminated, they end up in a separate

“residual” group—this number usually stays under 5 percent, but it must be sent to the landfill.

This is why proper sorting by residents is important—a little leftover beer from one bottle can

ruin an entire batch of mixed paper that could have been recycled without the liquid

contamination.

Students must realize that in Santa Barbara County, whatever is put in the trash bins

automatically is sent to the landfill. Recycling gets sorted, but trash does not. Trash is not sorted

at the landfill because of potential hazards from sharp objects or chemicals. According to a waste

characterization study done at Tajiguas landfill, approximately 15 percent of trash was recyclable

material, 50 percent was inorganic nonrecyclable material, and 35 percent organic nonrecyclable

material. The recyclable materials that stay in the landfill do not pose a direct problem at

Tajiguas, but a landfill only has so much space. Tajiguas is filling up—in thirteen years we will

have to move our trash to either Santa Maria or Simi Valley, both of which are an hour away.

This would increase transportation costs for MarBorg and therefore increase the cost of trash

service for Santa Barbara County. In Isla Vista, it costs $133 per 2 cubic yards of trash a week.

For recycling, that same 2 cubic yards only costs $77, about half of the cost of trash. By residents

recycling more and producing less trash, landlords can save money. These trash service fees are

incorporated into our rent, so when landlords pay less, we can save on rent.

The benefits don’t stop there. Recycling saves landfill space, conserves resources, saves

energy, and saves water. It means that less of our resources have to be extracted from nature to

make materials. According to the EPA, one ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, one ton of

recycled plastic saves 16.3 barrels of oil, one ton of recycled aluminum saves 4 tons of Bauxite

Ore, and one ton of recycled glass saves one ton of mixed limestone and sand. Manufacturing

products out of raw resources takes more energy than using a recycled product to make new

materials. For example, to make aluminum, Bauxite has to be mined, transported, crushed, mixed

with caustic soda, heated, and separated from impurities before being heated to very high

temperatures to finally separate the aluminum through a process called smelting. A recycled soda

can is already in a usable form of aluminum so it only has to be transported from the recycling

facility to be melted, which takes much less energy than smelting.

For these financial benefits as well as the environmental, here are the rules to recycling in

Isla Vista. Basically, residents of IV can recycle any paper, plastic, glass, or aluminum that has

not been contaminated. Effective July 2011, clean plastic film can be recycled. You can place

your plastic grocery bags, Ziplock bags, and bubble wrap inside commingled recycling

containers to be picked up. Plastic film does not include potato chip bags, so those unfortunately

must go in the trash. Regarding plastic containers, all plastics #1-7 can be recycled in Santa

Barbara County. This means that red SOLO cups can be recycled! Just make sure that you rinse

out the containers in order to decrease contamination so it doesn’t end up in the landfill. If you’re

unsure, just look for the recycling symbol on the product. All paper can be recycled, if they’re

clean: newspapers, mixed paper, paper bags, cardboard, and telephone books can all be recycled.

Paper towels and napkins cannot be recycled because of contamination, as well as pizza boxes.

The difficulty with paper is that it is easily contaminated, and many paper containers are made of

mixed materials and contain plastic, such as milk cartons and coffee cups. Coffee cups, if they

have a polyethylene coating, can be recycled—the coating protects the paper from

contamination. Tetra-Pak containers like milk cartons were not recyclable in the past, but they

can now be recycled in Santa Barbara County due to new technology, but make sure to empty

cartons completely before recycling them!

To get closer to UCSB’s 70 percent diversion rate, residents in Isla Vista must start

recycling. Recyclables should be sorted from trash in residences by adding another bin next to

the trash, or simply using a separate bag for recyclables. Sorting in the kitchen decreases

likelihood of contamination and makes it easier to take out the trash later. In addition, the trash

will need to be taken out less often because of the extra container for items that would have gone

in the trash. However, getting closer to a zero waste town involves more than just residents

making good decisions. If all restaurants started to sell food in compostable packaging in IV like

they did on campus, we could add compost bins on the streets. UCSB has the ability to control its

facilities, so they have an advantage making them successful. Implementation of something like

this would require legislation to be passed, banning one-time use plastics and Styrofoam take-out

containers. This was successfully done in San Francisco, which is now a zero waste city. Isla

Vista has a history of students taking action, and we have seen success when students come

together and create a movement.

In conclusion, Isla Vista suffers from the tragedy of the commons. IV is just a temporary

home for most—students typically reside in IV for three years before moving out for the next

group. However, students are extremely fortunate to live in a beautiful town right by the ocean

and should feel the need to keep it beautiful. The benefits of proper waste management are also

reflected in rent costs, since recycling costs half as much as trash. We already pay extremely

high prices for our pollution, and in order to prevent increases in fees it is essential that residents

start changing their behaviors. So, the next time you clean up after beer pong, be sure to toss all

your red cups in the recycling bin. Set your CRV items aside to make it easier for can collectors.

A regulatory change may be necessary to change the way we see waste, but I believe in UCSB

students to change their habits from acquiring information and inspiring others to do the same.

References:

LessisMore.org

http://www.lessismore.org/materials/28-why-recycle#paper

MarBorg Industries, John Kendall, MarBorg.com

Isla Vista Parks & Recreation Adopt-a-Block Program, Adam Porte

“Can Fairies” Documentary, vimeo.com

CalRecycle.com

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer/Consumers/CashingIn.htm

UCSB Facilities Management, Matt O’Carroll

SB County Public Works

http://www.countyofsb.org/pwd/pwrrwm.aspx?id=3242

Tajiguas Landfill

SB Independent

http://www.independent.com/news/2012/aug/29/tajiguas-landfill-prettiest-and-most-

expensive/