Laguna Beach Local Committed to Environment at Work and at Home

With its miles of sandy waterfront, art festivals, boutique shopping and great schools, Laguna Beach has always been a dream locale to Asteghik Khajetoorians, or Asik, as she’s known by most. The dream was realized in 2004 when her family made the move west from New Hampshire. She raised two daughters, who attended Laguna Beach public schools, and went on to graduate from UCLA and UC Berkeley.

“I enjoy the fact that when I am home from work, Laguna Beach, which I proudly call home, has an amazing lively arts and culture scene, wonderful restaurants and small town, community feel,” said Khajetoorians.

Work for Khajetoorians is in the legal field; she’s currently an Assistant General Counsel at WM, the environmental services company formerly known as Waste Management. She has worked in environmental law for most of her professional life and it’s a specialty she loves.

“As an attorney at WM, I have been able to help the environment by working on projects that take us into the next era of sustainability,” she said.

At WM, the team works to educate communities about moving toward more sustainable living and complying with environmental laws. Asik says the most topical educational issue is the California law that went into effect in 2022 concerning organics. California Senate Bill 1383 sets goals to reduce disposal of organic waste in landfills, including edible food. The bill’s purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane, and address food insecurity in California.

Recycling food waste is now mandatory. But Asik assured that Laguna Beach is a progressive city with serious citizens who are doing a great job implanting organics recycling.

Asik has over two decades of experience as a lawyer since graduating from George Washington University and Whittier Law School. In her current role she helps interpret laws and help her colleagues educate communities about implementing them. While food-waste collection sounds simple, she said it has required a lot of logistics for municipalities and businesses and habit changes for most.

She believes that people want to do the right thing by the planet and that a sustainable future is achievable.

“To me, sustainability goes hand in hand with the waste management and recycling industries because that’s the industry’s future; sustainable materials management,” she said.