While walking down Del Playa Drive, one may notice garbage lining gutters, spilling out of trash cans and blowing out to the Pacific Ocean. To address this, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted amendments on Feb. 24 to the over 30-year-old ordinance governing waste management in the county’s most densely populated community.

The first amendments in over thirty years to I.V.’s waste management laws will phase out 32-gallon trash cans for larger carts with attached lids. Nexus file photo

While Isla Vista suffers from excessive amounts of trash year round, certain times of the year, such as move-out season in June, generate as much as 1 million pounds of trash within a couple weeks. Fifth-year environmental studies major Fernanda Vasquez Sanchez attested to the prevalence of trash in I.V.

“Anywhere I walk on any street in I.V., there’s always a can of something, or a plastic bottle or clothes for some reason,” Vasquez Sanchez said. “I’ve seen huge piles of trash, especially after move-out, just everywhere on the street. There’s random kitchen appliances and a whole couch and sometimes they stay there for weeks.”

Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) Public Works and & Sustainability Director Jenna Norton runs the Isla Vista Beautiful (IVB) program, which coordinates beautification procedures to address issues in I.V. These procedures include trash pickup, weed removal, graffiti abatement, streetlight additions and repairs.

Norton rejected the idea that I.V. tenants are responsible for trash in the streets, stating the issue of litter is due to insufficient trash can sizes and a lack of waste services compared to the number of residents.

“I think that it’s absolutely unacceptable the amount of litter in Isla Vista. It’s right near the beach, and it’s in a community that really cares about the environment, so it doesn’t really make sense initially as to why there’s so much litter,” Norton said. “I don’t think that Isla Vistans are littering as people like to say. I think the trash makes it into the trash can, but it can overflow very quickly.”

I.V. is an unincorporated part of Santa Barbara County (SBC), where waste service is provided solely by MarBorg Industries and laws set by a county ordinance, which was created in 1992 and previously amended in 1995. According to Senior Program Specialist with the Resource Recovery and & Waste Management Division of SBC Public Works, Mackenzie Forgey, these laws have failed to keep pace with I.V.’s growing population.

“There appear to be more folks living in each residential premises, as well as the general waste produced per capita in California has increased since [1995] as well. People are simply producing more waste than they were doing 30 years ago,” Forgey said. “The current minimum required service levels simply don’t take into account that increased population and increased per capita waste production since that was last updated in 1995.”

To solve the issue of trash in I.V., SBC officials, with input from IVCSD, drafted and proposed amendments to Chapter 17 of the SBC Code of Ordinances, which affects waste management in I.V. The SBC Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the amendments at their Feb. 24 meeting, which will go into effect in July.

Forgey helped draft the amendments and said they aim to solve the issue of undersubscription to waste services. The amendments will phase out 32-gallon trash cans for larger carts with attached lids, update required minimum service levels and require landlords or property managers — rather than tenants — to subscribe to service, among other things.

The law currently doesn’t require landlords or property managers to subscribe to waste services, meaning the responsibility falls on the tenants in many instances. According to Norton, under the current system, thousands of individual tenant accounts are opened and closed each year, creating inefficiencies and gaps in accountability and resulting in many units in I.V. not having waste services.

Norton emphasized that the revised policy will streamline waste management. 

“It’s easier to know who to contact about upping service if need be. And it’s also going to make it easier for code enforcement to mandate more service if necessary,” Norton said.

I.V. is the most densely populated area in SBC. Certain times of year, such as Deltopia weekend in April, generate thousands of pounds of trash. Nexus file photo

Additionally, the amendments will make recycling a mandatory waste service, which Forgey called “a huge win.” Under the current law, only trash services are mandated.

“Back in the 90s, recycling wasn’t as large of a portion of a household’s waste as it is today. So not only are we making sure all residents would have access to recycling service, but hopefully in such a fashion that allows them to divert all their recyclables properly,” Forgey said. “It’s really important for our waste diversion goals that people have access to the volume of recycling service that they need to divert all that cardboard, paper, metal, etc.”

As a long-time I.V. resident, Norton used her experience to lead a community effort that prompted the county to move toward drafting amendments to the ordinance. 

“Upon studying the issue myself, as well as talking with other county agencies who care about the same thing, we were really able to identify what the problems were,” Norton said. “It’s clear that we need additional waste service.”

Norton warned that the amendments could result in rent increases as landlords may incorporate the new costs into tenants’ monthly payments. However, Norton believes this possibility is worth the cost. 

“It’s just not acceptable to have this level of litter and poor waste management in a community. I mean, I don’t see this anywhere in the surrounding area, and so I don’t understand why it has to happen in Isla Vista,” Norton said. 

In the meantime, Norton encouraged residents to think of their consumption habits as the first line of defense against waste.

Forgey expressed optimism that the amendments will be successful in combating trash in I.V.

“30 years is a long time to have left the current conditions as is,” Forgey said. “Isla Vista is one of the most densely populated communities, and it’s right next to the Pacific Ocean, so this will hopefully have positive environmental impacts beyond just waste.”

A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Feb. 26, 2026 edition of the Daily Nexus.