LAVERGNE, Tenn. -- Piles of trash have been mounting at Percy Priest Lake, and a volunteer organization is looking for a permanent solution to resolve the problem.

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The Nashville Clean Water Project gave local leaders, including Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, a tour of the mess in hopes of showing them how big of a issue it has become.

"In some parts, this looks very much like the landfill," said volunteer Mark Thein.

In two separate boats, local leaders took to the water to get a firsthand look.

"First of all, this is pretty appalling. It sort of takes your breath away when you look at it," said Dean.

Nashville Clean Water Project volunteers have spent years cleaning up the mess. In May, 350 people canvassed the banks, collecting about five and a half tons of waste. They said it was produced mostly by campers who spend the weekend, leave their trash and drive off.

"We've got toiletries and toilet paper and clothes that are left behind, more odd things like barbecue grills. If a leg breaks off, if their tent breaks while they're camping, they leave the tent," said Thein.

"It's just being lazy, too lazy to pick up their own mess," said LaVergne Mayor Ronnie Erwin.

The polluters are producing the mess faster than environmentalists can clean it up. Friday's tour was designed to spark a discussion about what can be done to stop the littering altogether.

"You can see what happens. It all washes ashore here. You throw something into the water, and you think it's just going away. It's not going away. Here it is, a remarkable collection of old bottles and cans that someone is going to have to pick up," said Dean.

Dean said we could start out by putting up some signs along the bank and somehow regulate the people who camp here.

"Anybody seeing this would just say that it's totally unacceptable, and we have to make sure we're stewards of what we have here," said Dean.

Environmentalists said in addition to the debris created by campers, there is a bridge and some neighborhoods surrounding the lake that serve as popular dumping grounds for household waste.