South Lake Tahoe’s City Council Has Decided to Ban Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles

South Lake Tahoe’s City Council has banned single-use plastic water bottles for city facilities, temporary activities, and special events starting April 22, 2023. On April 22, 2024, the prohibition will apply citywide, giving companies time to prepare.

The restriction prohibits the sale of single-use plastic water bottles of less than one gallon, save in emergencies.

The Tahoe Environmental Resource Center (TERC) of the University of California Davis detected plastic in practically every beach sample.

“We intend to encourage a rousing ‘Drink Tahoe Tap’ marketing campaign and look forward to engaging with our business community,” said Sara Letton, the City’s Sustainability Coordinator. “The community strongly supported this at the first City Council presentation, but our business community wants help as the ban is enforced.”

The city wants to establish water bottle refill stations at strategic places over the next couple of years and will engage with local partners on outreach and education to encourage refilling with tap water.

100% recyclable aluminum single-use water bottles are offered as alternatives to plastic ones. “Most people know reduce, reuse, recycle.’ Consider it a priority list, Letton said. Sustainability always favors “reduce.” South Lake Tahoe wants to introduce visitors to its award-winning tap water.

Credits: 2News