Issues regarding waste management have been prevalent at the state, regional, and university levels in California. Waste management issues have led the state of California to pass the Integrated Waste Management Act in 1989, which required state entities to divert 25% of waste from landfills by 1995 and 50% by 2000. The University of California (UC) adopted similar goals in the Policy on Sustainable Practices to divert 50% of municipal solid waste from landfills by 2008, 75% by 2012, and to generate zero waste by 2020. In addition, the UC system requires UC campuses to produce a Waste Diversion Plan that outlines their annual waste data, plans to achieve waste diversion, and zero waste efforts.
Read more of the UCSB Waste Diversion Plan 2012.