Over the past decade, 31,000 plastic straws were picked up from Lake Tahoe’s environment by volunteers.
This may seem like a lot, but plastic straw findings actually decreased dramatically in recent years because local businesses simply stopped using them.
Laura Patten, Natural Resource Director at the League to Save Lake Tahoe, said the community will probably keep using items like paper straws.
“Over the past few years, we really worked with the businesses, worked with our community, worked with the cities and counties to help them switch away from single-use plastics, and we don’t anticipate that to change."
When plastic breaks down, microplastics can harm water quality and wildlife.
