SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The City of South Lake Tahoe’s single-use water bottle ban goes into effect for commercial vendors on Earth Day, April 22.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe, known for its slogan, Keep Tahoe Blue, has supported the ordinance and hopes the change inspires sustainable thinking.

“I think when we put the best foot forward in Tahoe by not offering single-use plastic water bottles for sale,” says the league’s Marilee Movius, “it really shows to the people in our community and that are visiting, that plastics are not the Tahoe way.”

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The Tahoe way, the Senior Community Engagement Manager says, is using alternatives to single-use plastic, choosing reusables, drinking Tahoe tap, leaving places better than when they were found, and picking up litter.

“All of these actions,” she says, “really help keep Tahoe blue and protect the lake for future generations.”

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City Council updated its ordinance in October 2022, banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles within city limits, with an exception for emergencies. The ban applies to bottles less than one gallon and does not include sparkling or flavored waters.

The city implemented the ban in phases, starting last year on Earth Day for city facilities, city-affiliated events, and city concessionaires.

The next phase goes citywide for all commercial vendors on Earth Day this year.

Fines for violating the ordinance are up to $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, and $500 for each additional violation within one year.

South Tahoe’s Sustainability Coordinator, Sara Letton, doesn’t anticipate any issues with the transition. “Community sentiment seems to be very supportive, overall,” Letton says as the city, in partnership with the league, has been engaging the community with door-to-door education campaigns at local businesses, providing mailings, emails, and conducting social media campaigns.

One message to residents and tourists has been encouraging them to choose to refuse single-use plastics and, as the billboards and signs say, “Drink Tahoe Tap” instead.

The Tahoe Water Suppliers Association provides Tahoe tap from minimally treated rain and snowmelt. The award-winning drinking water provided at no cost at refill stations is music to the ears, especially if you listen to the song about it, “If you find yourself in Tahoe, turn on the Tap. It’s the finest drink of water in the world and that’s a fact…”

With the help of city grants, businesses are installing refill stations to dispense Tahoe Tap as they get ready for the ban. This places them on the Tahoe Tap map, where the thirsty person can find the closest refill station near them.

The younger generation has gotten involved in outreach efforts, including the SOS Outreach youth and mentors, South Tahoe High School Climate Crew students and South Tahoe High School Key Club. Together with the league, Americorps fellows from South Tahoe Public Utility District and South Tahoe Refuse, and an intern from Drink Tahoe Tap, they were able to visit 97 businesses between December and March.

In order to visualize the magnitude of single-use plastics, Americorps fellows Katie Sloan and Lily Summerville asked South Tahoe Refuse’s Recycling Buy-Back Center to accumulate plastic water bottles. Over the course of one morning, about four hours, employees filled a two cubic yard dumpster full of them. Sloan says, “It is pretty astounding the amount of volume that STR processes.”

Summerville says although there are plenty of other plastic single-use bottles out there, changing consumer commercial habits can be challenging. Starting with single-use plastic water bottles can have a grand effect on the litter problem, “It was at the helm of this litter problem and the best target, at least to start with,” she says.

The issue with single-use plastics, Movius explains is, “They’re used for just a few minutes, but then they remain in our environment forever, if they’re not properly discarded.”

Plastics don’t bio-degrade and instead break down into small pieces, leaching chemicals that can damage water quality and turn into microplastics.

It’s daunting knowledge considering the league and volunteers picked up 20,100 plastic bottles, 31,300 plastic caps and 163,800 unidentifiable plastic pieces from 2014-2023.

“It’s really critical to stop this litter at its source,” says Movious, who adds that the ordinance allows businesses to become sustainability leaders.

Safeway says they are prepared to comply with the ordinance, come April 22, and are listed on Drink Tahoe Tap’s map with a refill station.

Grocery Outlet is in the process of converting its current water fountains into refill stations. They say they’ve always had a good selection of reusable water bottles and more are coming.

“I think just spreading that environmentally conscious mindset is just one of the most important things,” said Summerville.

The mindset has spread across the lake and beyond. The Town of Truckee recently adopted a similar ordinance in January. The ban goes into effect there on Earth Day next year. Breckenridge Colorado’s single-use plastic water bottle ban goes into effect in July.

“I think it just really shows that the City of South Lake Tahoe,” Summerville says, “has become a leader in sustainability and it’s really great to see these efforts coming to fruition.”

Jurisdictions aren’t the only ones the league hopes the ordinance inspires.

“I think this really gets people starting to think differently,” Movius says, “on how they can take individual actions in their daily lives, including choosing reusables instead of single-use plastics.”

There are plenty of events ushered in by Earth Day for those who do find themselves inspired and wanting to do more.

South Tahoe Earth Week begins on Earth Day, Monday, April 22 with a cleanup on Mother Nature Monday and ends with an Earth Day Festival on Sustainability Saturday. Each day of the week lists multiple earth-friendly activities you can participate in that are as simple as turning off outside lights.

Learn about recycling, composting, and alternative energy at Tahoe Truckee’s Earth Day Festival. The free event on April 20 at the Village at Palisades Tahoe has many educational booths you can attend.

The South Tahoe Earth Day Festival takes place on Saturday, April 27, at Lake Tahoe Community College. This year’s theme is Lake Tahoe vs. Plastics with booths on topics of litter initiatives, cleanups and hands-on activities.

The League to Save Lake Tahoe has a full list of upcoming events on their website.