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STORY: This island in Guatemala is made of garbage.

There are plastic bottles, tires, sofas — even human remains have been found here.

Local residents are worried about it.

They fish in Lake Amatitlan, and making a living from it.

Tourism boat driver Celestino de la Cruz says he remembers when the lake was crystal clear.

Now it's more of a greenish hue.

“I don’t know why the lake has deteriorated, it’s a shame to see it,” he says.

:: File

Part of the problem, experts say, is industrialization in Guatemala City’s metropolitan area.

Rivers carry contaminated water to the lake, which leads to excess nitrogen and propels the growth of a toxic blue-green algae.

There have been laws since 2006 seeking to control nitrogen levels in the lake.

And surrounding municipalities got funding for water treatment plants - but those resources were re-allocated.

The agency for sustainable management of the lake says it’s removing about 100 trucks of trash a day - even during the heavy rains of the winter season.

They placed a retention barrier on the lake’s surface that's more than a mile long.

"We all have the intention to save the lake. It is our hope that one day we will be able to save it,” says trash extraction manager Yuri Geovani.

He says without those efforts, the lake would probably be a swamp by now.

The agency says over 190,000 cubic feet of trash has been scooped up this year alone.

That’s more than two Olympic-sized swimming pools.