UCSB students and Isla Vista community members enjoyed a live performance from local band Big Hungry at the Zero Waste Festival, put on by Associated Students Zero Waste Committee. (Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus)
UC Santa Barbara’s Associated Students Zero Waste Committee hosted their annual Zero Waste Festival on April 19, inviting students and Isla Vista community members to a day of live music, zero-waste art and opportunities to learn more about sustainable living.
Associated Students (A.S.) Zero Waste Committee (ZWC) is a student-led organization dedicated to reaching a UC-wide goal of zero waste. Spearheaded by the UC Office of the President (UCOP) Office of Sustainability, the goal of zero waste is included in the UC Sustainable Practices Policy, which was established in April 2024 and outlines sustainability practices for each UC campus to follow.
Taking place at the Isla Vista Community Center (IVCC), the event was geared toward communicating the goals of the ZWC and UCOP Office of Sustainability to students and Isla Vista residents. According to Adrianna Rajewska, a second-year environmental studies and art double major and Zero Waste Festival co-coordinator, ZWC hopes to reduce single-use plastics around campus and educate UCSB students on how to live sustainably.
“We’re trying to promote the message of reduced consumption,” Rajewska said. “The best way to educate people is hosting [community] events.”
Local Isla Vista band Big Hungry was the main musical headliner of the festival, performing outside on the IVCC stage. The sunny weather paired well with Big Hungry’s surf indie rock sound, drawing in crowds of students to sit on the grass outside the IVCC and listen to their performance.
This year marks the first time ZWC’s Zero Waste Festival has featured a musical performance. Fourth-year sociology major and Zero Waste Festival co-coordinator Hailey Knudsen reached out to Big Hungry to perform due to their popularity and prominence in the I.V. community.
“[Big Hungry has] a huge following in I.V. to draw people in,” Knudsen said. “[They have] chill music to set the ambience of the festival.”
Knudsen was hoping to attract a large turnout in order to promote the message of sustainability to others. “Festivals like this bring in people who aren’t part of other [environmental] orgs, include them and spread awareness,” Knudsen said.
In addition to live music, the festival drew in a large crowd with free Hummus Republic wraps and invited attendees to enter a generous raffle, offering prizes such as a $150 Patagonia gift card, a case of Guayakí Yerba Mates and a Lush Cosmetics gift basket.
ZWC also set up a crafts table, inviting attendees to create garlands out of dehydrated oranges, leaves and flowers, strung together with twine. The oranges came from Knudsen’s backyard, and the ZWC collected plants around Isla Vista to contribute to the activity, in line with the festival’s theme of zero waste.
“We didn’t want any plastic materials,” Rajewska said of the crafts table.
Multiple student and Isla Vista organizations tabling at the event. (Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus)
Multiple student and community organizations were present at the festival, tabling inside the community center to discuss sustainability, each organization’s mission and opportunities to get involved, as well as handing out stickers and informational fliers to attendees. The Isla Vista Food Cooperative, Sprout Up and A.S. Environmental Affairs Board (EAB) were among those present.
Sidney Loftman, a second-year mechanical engineering major and EAB events chair, echoed Rajewska and Knudsen’s sentiment of educating the community through events. “The average community member now knows tips about how to live sustainably,” Loftman said.
Isla Vista Trading Post (IVTP), a student-run organization that recirculates clothing donations from the Isla Vista area, was also present at the festival, advertised as one of the main organization headliners. IVTP hosted a “3-for-free” thrifting sale to encourage attendees to participate in secondhand shopping, allowing shoppers to pick up three clothing items for free.
“We try to discourage people from fast fashion and encourage people to shop secondhand,” third-year psychological and brain sciences major and IVTP co-fashion committee director Emily Nartker said. “[We’re] trying to make it more accessible.”
“[These events are a] really good way to get exposed to so many different outlets and resources to be more sustainable,” fourth-year communication major and IVTP co-president Bridget Bommer said.
Through the Zero Waste Festival and other events hosted by ZWC and environmentally-focused organizations, organizers hope to educate and encourage people to participate in sustainable practices and reduce personal consumption.
“We want to be super accessible so no one is feeling like they lack the resources to live sustainably,” Rajewska said.
This article appeared in the April 24 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
