It seems like the world’s highest mountain has now become the highest garbage dump as well.
The increasing number of treks by mountaineers has polluted Mount Everest to a great extent, with many of them leaving the garbage behind. In a bid to “restore its glory”, Solukhumbu district’s Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality began a 45 day Everest Cleaning Campaign on April 14, which is the Nepali New Year.
The cleanup campaign has collected a total of 3000kg solid waste so far. Through the campaign, supported by a number of government and non-governmental agencies organisers hope to collect a total of 10,000 kg solid waste. “The campaign will collect and bring back 5,000kg of waste from Everest Base Camp, 2,000kg from South Col, and a combined 3,000kg from Camp I and Camp II,” Director General of the Department of Tourism Danduraj Ghimire was quoted as saying in Kathmandu Post.“Our goal is to extract as much waste as possible from Everest so as to restore the glory to the mountain,” Ghimire said during a press conference. “Everest is not just the crown of the world, but our pride,” he said.
Many a time, the trekkers might not make it back and their bodies get buried under snow. According to a BBC report, melting glaciers have been exposing the dead bodies buried in snow and ice. The organisers of the campaign have said that they will bring back the bodies if they locate any.
According to Kathmandu Post, the cost of the whole campaign has been estimated at Rs 23 million.
