SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — More than 180 volunteers on Saturday, May 22, picked up trash at 16 different locations around Lake Tahoe’s South Shore for the 5th annual Spring Clean event organized by Clean Tahoe.

The event is held each year to pick up litter that has accumulated over the winter and hidden under snow. Clean Tahoe field crew dumped three truckloads full of roadside litter at the South Tahoe Refuse transfer station. An estimated 1,500 pounds of trash were collected.

“The best part about this event is that it brings the community together outdoors for a good cause and people realize that picking up trash is actually fun, some even say it’s relaxing,” said Katie Sheehan, executive director of Clean Tahoe.

Several local businesses and service groups participated in the event, including Anderson Bike Rental, Ski Run Business Improvement District, South Lake Tahoe Rotary Club, California Conservation Corps, Barton Memorial Hospital, Sierra Community Church, South Tahoe High School Climate Crew & Generation Green, South Tahoe High School Key Club, Cannablu, Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, South Shore Bikes, and MacDuffs Pub.

“Our club was excited to participate in an event that helps our community and accomplishes our goal of direct environmental help and action,” said Darby Creegan, president of the Climate Crew & Generation Green Club. “We’re looking forward to this event next year; hopefully we can have a bigger group.”

They picked up more than three large bags of trash on the hill behind the high school, including a baseball bat, old signs, and cafeteria trash.

Marissa Muscat, MD, and Chris Proctor, director of community benefit at Barton, organized 70 members of the hospital’s healthcare staff to join the event.

“The commitment and dedication from Barton employees and their families was impressive, even with questionable weather,” Muscat said. “We all felt a sense of fulfillment being good neighbors and supporting Clean Tahoe in meeting their mission.”

Volunteers are always shocked by the number of cigarette butts they find on the ground. Other common items removed from the streets include flossers, wrappers, bottles, cans, and masks. Trash treasures were also found during the cleanup including dog toys and a $5 bill.

“Nothing gets the local artists’ blood boiling more than a trashed Tahoe,” said Eleanor Bonbon of Tattoo Bonbon, who created the illustrated vignette used on the hats, stickers and magnets for the organization. “We as artists are ready to lend our talents to this cause to compel positive action for our community. Before I started the illustration ‘JunkMunk’ I pitched the question to my social media circles: ‘What is the most hated litter item tossed in Tahoe forests? Sixty three responses later and I had a long list of trash to illustrate.’ I did my best to include everyone’s ‘most hated’ trash, but could not figure out for the life of me how to incorporate (most requested) dirty diapers into this illustration.”

The event was supported by several local businesses who donated prizes for the volunteer raffle.

“It was truly an honor to work with Clean Tahoe because it’s such an awesome organization that employs locals and keeps our town litter free,” said Bailey Anderson of Anderson Bike Rental. “I was astounded by the amount of community help that came out to volunteer for the event. It was heartwarming to see Lake Tahoe locals join forces with local businesses to support such an awesome cause. I can’t wait to help out more in the future and keep our community clean.”

Source: Clean Tahoe