ZEPHYR COVE – The July 4 celebration at Lake Tahoe led to “one hell of a mess,” according to Clean Up The Lake and the League to Save Lake Tahoe.
Partiers left tons of garbage on lake shores and in the lake – more than 6,000 lbs. of trash.
“The morning of July 5th brought disappointment as volunteers encountered an alarming accumulation of litter, both sizable piles along the shoreline and scattered beneath … water,” Colin West with Clean Up The Lake said.
The two nonprofits joined forces to clean up the lake at Zephyr Cove, where the extensive littering happened. Garbage included beer bottles, shoes, sandals, vape pens, broken beer-pong tables and illegal drugs.
“After five years of hosting clean-up events in Tahoe, what we came across [July 5] was the worst I have ever seen,” West added. “Or teams came equipped with trash grabbers but what we found required shovels, rakes and over 150 large trash bags.
“The cocaine and whip-it bottles also made for some of our most interesting finds of the day.”
Volunteers cleaned up the mess, calling the effort an overwhelming success “demonstrating the power of collective action and the commitment to preserving Lake Tahoe.” Both groups said they wanted to put a stop to the garbage.
“We look forward to creating preventative measures with our Lake Tahoe Litter Summit partners so we aren’t faced with this issue for years to come,” Sandye Easler with Clean Up the Lake added.
Source: Clean Up The Lake
