Scuba divers have removed 25,281 lbs of litter from the 2 million year old Lake Tahoe.
Sitting on the border of California and Nevada with a 72-mile long shoreline, the water has a purity scoring of 99.994% – but litter still finds it way into the lake.
The team was made up of volunteers and arranged by non-profit organisation Clean Up the Lake , who removed items from the lake including plastic bottles, wallets, and camera equipment from the 1980s. Over the 80-day project, a 10-12ft trailer was filled with litter every two to three days.
4,797 items of debris were removed from the lake in total. The trash included 4,527 aluminum cans, 295 pairs of sunglasses, 171 tires and 127 boat anchors.A sculpture made from some of the debris retrieved from Lake Tahoe has been commissioned by the Tahoe Fund.
