The Isla Vista Recreation & Park District and the Isla Vista Community Services District annual post-Deltopia cleanup yielded 828 pounds of litter — the equivalent weight of an American Moose.

The Sunday Deltopia cleanup yielded 828 pounds of litter. Photo courtesy Callahan Morgan “IV Streets.”

The cleanup took place on April 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., following the height of Deltopia — an unsanctioned street festival in Isla Vista —  on April 6 the day before. 

The Isla Vista Recreation & Park District (IVRPD) reported a turnout of 73 volunteers who contributed over 100 hours of service altogether.  Volunteers retrieved 207 buckets of both trash and recycling — equivalent to 414 cubic feet and 828 pounds of litter, according to the IVRPD District Clerk Nicholas A. Norman. They additionally collected 38.5 cubic feet of recycling.

73 volunteers contributed 100 volunteer hours altogether. Photo courtesy Callahan Morgan “IV Streets.”

IVRPD Adopt-A-Block Assistant Laila Kleinberg said though any Isla Vista gathering produces trash, Deltopia produces “far more than usual.” This year, Deltopia crowds peaked at approximately 20,000 to 25,000, 10,000 more than in 2023, according to preliminary data from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. 

“If we don’t reach [the trash] early on, it could end up in the ocean, which would be really upsetting,” she said. “So our hope is just to get as much trash off the streets as possible and also to build community through this event.”  

Organizers from the IVRPD stationed the event to begin from two meetup points in I.V.: Window to The Sea Park and the IVRPD District Office. The cleanup drive promoted the Adopt-A-Block initiative of the IVRPD — regular street clean-ups by community volunteers to prevent street waste from becoming a public safety hazard, contributing to urban decay and polluting the environment, according to an IVRPD website.

At the stations, volunteers signed in and were given a safety orientation. IVRPD issued volunteers with yellow vests, trash grabbers and buckets.

Kleinberg explained that planning the cleanup event was a collaborative process. 

“This event, particularly, we’re partnered with the community service district. So we’ve been doing a lot of partnership work and planning,” Kleinberg said. “We do a lot of work making flyers and working on social media. And then another really big part of it is gathering materials, and just spreading the word so we can get as much support as possible.” 

Volunteers emphasized the importance of keeping Isla Vista streets clean.

“On the way here, I saw a bunch of trash so I feel like we just need to help in some way,” second-year undeclared major and volunteer Erica Gomez said.

Deltopia 2024 yielded 10,000 more attendees than in 2023, amplifying the volume of street litter requiring cleanup. Photo courtesy Callahan Morgan “IV Streets.”