Tahoe community organizations ranging from business associations to nonprofits to kayak rental companies have long been begging the lake’s visitors to be more responsible with picking up their trash. And now, the results of a two-year study and monitoring project in Lake Tahoe could suggest that the messaging may just be working. The findings come from Clean Up The Lake’s two-year project that sent scuba divers to clean up trash in 30 “litter hot spots” between 0 and 25 feet deep along Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. Hot spots were areas of heavier-than-normal trash, identified via diver observations and garbage data. The first sweep was finished in July 2021, and the second was completed in fall 2023. The study found a significant decrease in litter over the two-year period on the Nevada side of the lake (the California areas have not yet been analyzed).