Letter: Litterbugs need to be fined

When are the City of South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and other agencies going to stop inveigling the residents to clean up after tourists and seek a better solution to cleaning the beaches?

I suggest the agencies including South Lake Tahoe Police Department work together to put the responsibility squarely back on those who litter and start FINING them when they do it!

Why is it the residents’ job to clean up after these slobs?

It is unhygienic and unsafe to pick up dirty diapers, bottles, cigarette butts, etc., etc. from the beaches after these people have trashed them on holidays. Rather than clean up after the fact, a cadre of ticket givers is needed.

California has litter laws. Not sure why they don’t apply up here. Picking up after tourists and litterers just gives them tacit approval to throw their garbage in the sand because they know someone else will pick it up!

If they know there will be a huge fine for leaving trash, they will cease to leave it. That’s what I call good training in Leave No Trace ethics.

Sincerely,

Antonia Hall
South Lake Tahoe, CA