This story was shared with permission from KUNR Public Radio. For an audio version of the story, please visit the KUNR website.
The League to Save Lake Tahoe released data from 11 years of 4th of July beach cleanups last week. The data reveals significant improvements in the amount of trash found this year.
The League’s annual “Keep Tahoe Red, White & Blue” beach cleanup started in 2014, to tackle the litter left behind after 4th of July celebrations.
Since then, more than 26,000 pounds of trash have been removed from Tahoe’s shores over the years. Of this, 60% was found to be plastic.
This year, a record turnout of 800 volunteers showed up to help, and found far less trash than in 2023.
“Last year, our volunteers picked up over 8000 pounds of trash throughout the basin, and the entire Tahoe community really saw that as a call to action,” said Laura Patten, natural resource director for the League.
She said there was a 97% decrease in litter from last year, according to the data.
In 2023, volunteers picked up 6,300 pounds of trash from Zephyr Cove and Shoals alone. This beach is known to be a popular spot, and was previously unmanaged by the US Forest Service. This year, that number dropped to just 160 pounds.
This improvement is a result of new beach management at Zephyr, like added trash cans, bathrooms, security and signage, Patten said.
This is part of their “Tahoe Blue Beaches” program, which has only been implemented at Zephyr so far.
Due to the program’s success on this beach, the league hopes to expand this strategy to several other Tahoe beaches year-round, with their sights set on Meeks Bay next.
Sydney Peerman is the 2024 summer intern for KUNR and the Hitchcock Project for Visualizing Science.
