Lake Tahoe brings in millions of people per year, and nonprofits say all those people also bring a lot of trash and pollution to the lake.
On Wednesday nonprofits, government agencies and the community got together to see what solutions they can find to combat the issue.
Clean Up the Lake hosted the second annual Lake Tahoe Litter Summit.
During the summit they came away with three possible solutions.
The first is developing a preventative action committee, where they can take ideas and put them into action.
The second is finding ways to build better infrastructure.
"At times we don't have the trash cans, the dumpsters, and the infrastructure that's needed," said Colin West, CEO of Clean Up the Lake. "So how do we keep Tahoe pristine and beautiful and wild like we love it while also having the support that we need to manage litter, to manage waste and everything in the basin?"
The third solution involved how to prevent another huge trash load on July 5.
You may remember last year the massive amount of trash that was left behind from Independence Day celebrations, and how long it took to clean it all up.
Organizers say with how high the lake is right now, there's less room for beaches this year.
Their goal is to now start doing activism in June by talking with businesses and parks to spread awareness.
They are also getting together another committee, the data unification committee.
This committee would compile all the data of the litter from around the lake.
That way, they get a better understanding of where they're at in their efforts.
During the summit, they had a psychologist come in and explain the effects of constantly seeing trash and litter and how that may influence people to continue what they are doing.
"At times when people see cleanups, when people see littering as a common thing that occurs, they might continue to do that," West said. "So, with the stewardship plan, with the summit and all the press and things we put out, we want to try and reinforce the good work that's happening."
Some visitors of the lake today also stressed the importance of picking up trash and think people can be doing better.
"Looking at Fourth of July last year, I feel like that was pretty disappointing to see," said Liam Panrucker, Lake Tahoe visitor. "I feel like we should be caring more about the environment especially now."
"It's super important to keep them clean for future generations," said Danial Segura, Lake Tahoe visitor. "I definitely want my kids to be able to enjoy this amenity just like I was."
Another meeting is scheduled in June.
That's when their two committees will have their first meeting.
That meeting is where they're hoping to take these solutions and turn them into action.
