The No Time to Waste Campaign

No Time to Waste Resolution

Campaign Updates

Enviroslug's primary objective is to have Chancellor Larive agree to our No Time to Waste Resolutions demands. Despite having support from 1300 individual students, 8 college councils, 5 campus organizations, the SUA as well as faculty support, the chancellor has yet to respond to our requests to meet. 

In place of the Chancellor, we were offered a meeting with 5 campus administrators. We are concerned that despite student outreach efforts, the Chancellor has not directly responded and addressed this issue. We need urgent action from our leaders and the lack of response and initiative from our administration is not supportive of the rapid transition we need to make. 

Here is what we learned when we met with the administration this past spring

• UCSC is creating a 10 Year Strategic Plan for Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience Committee 

  • Funding is not yet secured for the Strategic Plan 

• UCSC Sustainability Office has a Zero Waste Action Committee

  • Sustainability Office has not been able to secure permanent operational funding since their student fee sunset in Spring 2020.   

• The reasons that UCSC hasn't met this goal: 

  • students are coming to UCSC from across the world with different understandings of how to sort waste

  • UCSC hauls its own waste 

  • we started working on these goals later than the other UC schools 

  • recycling on a national level is in jeopardy 

In response to our resolution, the administration did not respond as hoped. We were shocked to learn that the main concern is student education- when UCSC students already produce the lowest amount of waste per student. The problem lies in what happens with that waste.

In addition to their inability to secure the resources needed, administration has lacked innovation and urgency to address the waste issues on campus. This academic year, the Zero Waste Action committee launched the Porter Zero Waste Pilot however no results have been shared publicly about the initiative. While this is a step in the right direction, Enviroslug is calling for a campus-wide waste diversion initiative.  

We are concerned to learn that Zero Waste is not a priority to the UC System and disappointed by the lack of response from the Chancellor. We are determined to make our voices heard. We are continuing to pursue a meeting with the Chancellor. See below for our letter to the chancellor.

Our Letter to the Chancellor

Dear Chancellor Larive & EVC Kletzer, 

We request to schedule a meeting with you about an urgent matter.

As leaders of the Enviroslug student collective, representing three UCSC student sustainability organizations, we have heard the concerns and frustrations of students, staff, faculty, and alumni about UCSC’s lack of effective action to protect our environment. The student councils of Kresge, Rachel Carson, Stevenson, Merrill, Crown, and Cowell colleges, multiple resource centers, student collectives, and over 1,200 individual UCSC students have signed onto the attached No Time to Waste Resolution, urging the campus administration to meet its Zero Waste goals that were set almost 20 years ago and which we failed to meet by a large margin.

As an institution that serves almost 20,000 students and close to 4,000 employees, UCSC has a responsibility to properly manage our waste and carbon emissions, demonstrating true environmental stewardship. We are in a climate emergency and our institution has the power to transform how we live and adapt to our future, yet our campus currently ranks 9th out of the 10 UC campuses in reducing waste sent to the landfill. 

As key decision makers on campus your actions are instrumental to preserving UCSC’s culture and values. We want you, the chancellor of UCSC, to set an example in campus sustainability for the entire UC system and fight for the legacy of our school. As student leaders and activists fully engaged on-the-ground, in research, and in coalitions, we ask to have our voices heard. Would you be open to meeting with us to hear our experiences, concerns, and ideas?

As the academic year is coming to a close, we hope that you will find time to meet with us before Week Ten. Please contact us with possible dates and times.

Sincerely,

Enviroslug