Almost 500 people turned out for a July 5 clean-up campaign at five Lake Tahoe beaches in what organizers have made an annual post-Independence Day event.

League to Save Lake Tahoe spokesman Chris Carney tells the Reno Gazette Journal that volunteers picked up almost 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) of litter Thursday from Commons Beach in Tahoe City and Kings, Keva, Nevada and Regan beaches in South Lake Tahoe.

The 7-ton (6.35-metric ton) haul included more than 8,000 cigarette butts and 18,000 pieces of single-use plastic cups, lids, bottle caps and food wrappers.

Participants came from California and Nevada city and state agencies, the U.S. Forest Service and businesses including nearby ski areas and recreational rental firms.

Officials noted that a ban on take-out restaurant polystyrene goes into effect products in South Lake Tahoe in October.

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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

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