Post-July 4 Tahoe beach cleanup reports less litter this year than last

Published by KRNV Reno 4News: by SOPHIE LINCOLN: Fri, July 5th 2024

ZEPHYR COVE, Nev. — Organizers of the annual “Keep Tahoe Red, White & Blue” cleanup are reporting significantly less litter this year compared to last.

"We've already done a scuba cleanup here in Zephyr, same spot where we pulled over 3-400 pounds of trash out last year, and this year, we just found a few beer cans, some of these sunnies and this little necklace I'm wearing now," Founder and CEO of Clean Up The Lake Colin West said.

Last year was historically bad in terms of how much litter was left over from the Fourth of July holiday at Lake Tahoe beaches, with about 8,000 pounds of trash being picked up at last year's cleanup.

This year, organizers said the decrease in trash on the beaches is likely due in part to efforts that were made after last year's record-high amount of litter.

"Seeing kind of what we saw on Zephyr Shoals was, it was a sad day. But today, stepping out here, it was a bit more hope for humanity, as I would like to say, seeing that we are respecting our environment, but also we're working together," West said.

New fencing, extra restrooms, more trash receptacles, and increased security helped ensure a cleaner, safer beach experience in 2024. Photo by Katy Jo Caringer of ECO-CLEAN Solutions.

Helping out the volunteers Friday was the League to Save Lake Tahoe's fairly new beach-cleaning robot, the BEBOT. An all electric battery-powered and solar-powered sand-sifting robot, designed to pick up the smaller pieces of litter that aren't as visible to the human eye.

"When you combine it with human-powered cleanups, we clean up ten times more litter. Just last year, we picked up over 10,000 pieces of litter, and this year we're hoping to double that," Marketing Director for ECO-CLEAN Solutions Katy Jo Caringer said.

To help keep the beach clean through the holiday weekend, organizers are reminding beachgoers to bring extra trash bags and pack out what you pack in.

Read the full article with video recap here: https://mynews4.com/news/local/post-july-4-lake-tahoe-beach-cleanup-reports-less-litter-this-year-than-last

BEBOT in action cleaning Zephyr Cove beach on Friday, July 5th, 2024. Photo by Katy Jo Caringer of ECO-CLEAN Solutions.