In The News – That’s not snow: Thousands of styrofoam beads wash up on Incline Village beaches
January 9, 2024 | Member Submitted
Originally Published in The Tahoe Daily Tribune 01/09/2023, Written by Katelyn Welsh
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – Community members are throwing pasta strainers, kitty litter scoops, buckets, tarps, leaf blowers, and shop vacuums at cleaning up potentially hundreds of thousands of styrofoam beads that washed ashore Incline and Ski Beach on Sunday. To the unknowing onlooker, the beads look like snow that has settled into drifts around the beach.
The source of the nearly Dippin’ Dot sized beads—a floating dock— was discovered Sunday afternoon. The dock likely broke open during the storm, scattering an unknown amount of plastic styrofoam beads into the lake.
The Incline Village Improvement District removed the damaged dock Monday morning and volunteers have been working since to clean up its remnant pellets.
Colin West of Clean Up the Lake says the storm’s large waves threw the beads high onto the shore, keeping them 10 to 20 feet from the water level.