LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KRON) – 2023 is being called possibly the worst year for litter at Lake Tahoe.
Videos show garbage piled up on some of the beaches and under the water following 4th of July celebrations. Environmental groups were out there on Wednesday cleaning up the mess.
It was an infuriating sight for volunteer clean-up groups. Video (above) shows what Zephyr Cove looked like after people partied at Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July. Now, these groups are wondering what’s going to keep this from happening year after year.
More than 6,300 pounds of garbage was found at Zephyr Cove Wednesday morning. About 300-500 pounds alone was collected from the water.
“There was beer cans, bottles, hair extensions, drugs. Everything under the sun. You can name it,” said Colin West, the founder and CEO of “Clean up the Lake.”
The organization launched in 2018 with a mission to keep the land and water at places like Tahoe free of pollution. The job gets especially challenging after huge crowds of irresponsible tourists take over these areas.
“There was nothing accidental about the litter we pulled off the beach today,” he said. “It’s just gut-wrenching and it’s just sad to see. I would much rather have problems be getting better than getting worse.”
Is there anything that can be done to curb this problem?
“That’s a good question,” West said. “There’s a lot of great people out there, and there’s a lot of people that need to be educated further. A lot of people just don't think and they aren’t as aware of it, and I think the more you can bring them into that circle of awareness the more effective it will be.”
The planning to prevent a repeat in 2024 is underway, but the situation gets a little complicated considering the Lake Tahoe area is made up of cities and towns in a handful of counties between two states. Much of it is run by the federal government.
West believes it’s going to take everyone to have a shared vision of keeping Tahoe clean.
“It’s a challenge, but there’s definitely going to be a lot of effort and time being put into preventing this next year,” he said.
The organization says they collected more than double the amount of trash from Lake Tahoe this year. The work took more than seven hours by dozens of volunteers.
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They did not do this work alone – it’s a collaborative effort with other organizations. They all simply want people to think about what they’re doing and avoid trashing beloved places.
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