Saving Mount Everest: Waste Management Project 2011
The largest amount of solid waste collected from the slopes of Mt Everest was brought down to Namche Bazaar and showcased on May 29. The project called “Saving Mount Everest: Waste Management Project 2011” included 29 Nepali mountaineers who worked from April 17 to May 29, 2011 to collect waste from the world’s highest peak.
The waste materials weighing 8,110kgs (8.1 tons) were brought down to Namche from the Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the backs of 75 yaks and with the help of 65 porters, to be sorted out for further disposal.
Among the total waste, 3,200kgs (3.2 tons) was handed to the authorities of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) for disposal, and the remainder was taken to Lukla and then flown to Kathmandu.
This is not the first time that cleanup campaigns have been organized on Mt Everest.
“Similar cleanup campaigns were held in 2003 and 2005 but this is the largest amount of waste that’s been brought down from Everest and from above 8,000 meters,” said Ang Dorjee Sherpa, president of SPCC. The 3.2 tons of waste handed to SPCC included tents, ropes, cardboard boxes and paper.
“The waste will be burnt in incarcerator centers of the SPCC in the next few months,” informed Phinjo Sherpa, country director of Eco Himal, one of the organizers of the cleanup project.
Even with the collection of such a large amount of waste, 50 tons of solid waste still remains in the Everest region, as estimated by experts.
As it was, the project was carried out with the collaboration of Everest Summiteers Association (ESA), Eco Himal, and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Funded with a budget of Rs 165 million, the project began in 2008, and its first phase was concluded with the showcasing of the waste collected from Mt Everest.
“We’ll now work to create sustainable waste management mechanisms and carry out another clean up campaign in 2012,” mentioned Diwas Pokharel, general secretary of ESA. He stressed that the project was different from other projects, as it focused on cleaning the area in the EBC from 5,360m and above.
The 29-member team was trained and encouraged to carry as much waste as they could.
“Nineteen of us worked above the EBC for seven hours or more to bring down waste everyday,” shared Pasang Sherpa, the team leader. “Each one of us carried down a minimum of 30kgs of waste.”
He explained that bringing down waste from the South Col of Mt Everest was specially challenging. “At 8,600m, it’s hard to believe that waste exists in all forms. You can find human excreta to cans and oxygen cylinders.”
Pema Diki Sherpa, 23, the only female mountaineer in the team who was also part of the First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition team that scaled Mt Everest in 2008, shared her satisfaction at the project’s success. “Even in 2008, we didn’t leave any waste behind. But this time, I was there only to clean the mountain.”
Besides the wastes that have been handed out to SPCC, the remainder has been flown to Kathmandu. “These wastes include metals, cans, helicopter parts and oxygen cylinders. We’ll be handing them to the Nepal Foundry Industries Ltd.
They will melt the metals and create gift items that will be sold to fund public awareness programs in the Khumbu region,” stated Pokharel.
While the project was successful in bringing down a huge amount of waste from the world’s highest peak, waste management is still a problem.
Janardan Subedi, Professor of Medical Sociology at Miami University who was on a trek to the EBC with his 20 American students, was skeptical about the project’s
achievement.
“Taking down the waste collected here to Kathmandu isn’t sustainable in the long run. Kathmandu itself is already dipped in waste, and flying down the waste appears ridiculous. A landfill site must be made in the Khumbu region.”
Sherpa of Eco Himal mentioned that the project was working to create a recycling factory for plastic products.
“Tourists who visit the Khumbu region take in a minimum intake of six liters of mineral water everyday. With more than 30,000 tourists coming here to trek in a season, the numbers of plastic bottles are ever increasing,” he said.
Since 1953, more than 3,500 mountaineers have reached the top of Mt Everest. Most expedition teams have left trails of wastes. But in recent years, the trend of cleaning Mt Everest has come in vogue. Mountaineers like Dawa Steven Sherpa, Ken Noguchi and Apa Sherpa are supporting the cause.
The government’s decision to require each expedition team to deposit an amount of US$4,000 for garbage and human waste disposal is another initiative.
But if the fragile environment of Mt Everest is to be preserved, the waste that has accumulated in the region from years of negligent climbing needs to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Nepali tourism economy depends heavily on expedition teams who are all over the slopes of Mt Everest but strict laws need to be regulated before it is too late. From porters and locals to mountaineers, each must contribute to maintaining the sanctity of Everest.
Climbing Mt Everest isn’t an issue, cleaning it is.
The largest amount of solid waste collected from the slopes of Mt Everest was brought down to Namche Bazaar and showcased on May 29. The project called “Saving Mount Everest: Waste Management Project 2011” included 29 Nepali mountaineers who worked from April 17 to May 29, 2011 to collect waste from the world’s highest peak.
The waste materials weighing 8,110kgs (8.1 tons) were brought down to Namche from the Everest Base Camp (EBC) on the backs of 75 yaks and with the help of 65 porters, to be sorted out for further disposal.
Among the total waste, 3,200kgs (3.2 tons) was handed to the authorities of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) for disposal, and the remainder was taken to Lukla and then flown to Kathmandu.
This is not the first time that cleanup campaigns have been organized on Mt Everest.
“Similar cleanup campaigns were held in 2003 and 2005 but this is the largest amount of waste that’s been brought down from Everest and from above 8,000 meters,” said Ang Dorjee Sherpa, president of SPCC. The 3.2 tons of waste handed to SPCC included tents, ropes, cardboard boxes and paper.
“The waste will be burnt in incarcerator centers of the SPCC in the next few months,” informed Phinjo Sherpa, country director of Eco Himal, one of the organizers of the cleanup project.
Even with the collection of such a large amount of waste, 50 tons of solid waste still remains in the Everest region, as estimated by experts.
As it was, the project was carried out with the collaboration of Everest Summiteers Association (ESA), Eco Himal, and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Funded with a budget of Rs 165 million, the project began in 2008, and its first phase was concluded with the showcasing of the waste collected from Mt Everest.
“We’ll now work to create sustainable waste management mechanisms and carry out another clean up campaign in 2012,” mentioned Diwas Pokharel, general secretary of ESA. He stressed that the project was different from other projects, as it focused on cleaning the area in the EBC from 5,360m and above.
The 29-member team was trained and encouraged to carry as much waste as they could.
“Nineteen of us worked above the EBC for seven hours or more to bring down waste everyday,” shared Pasang Sherpa, the team leader. “Each one of us carried down a minimum of 30kgs of waste.”
He explained that bringing down waste from the South Col of Mt Everest was specially challenging. “At 8,600m, it’s hard to believe that waste exists in all forms. You can find human excreta to cans and oxygen cylinders.”
Pema Diki Sherpa, 23, the only female mountaineer in the team who was also part of the First Inclusive Women Sagarmatha Expedition team that scaled Mt Everest in 2008, shared her satisfaction at the project’s success. “Even in 2008, we didn’t leave any waste behind. But this time, I was there only to clean the mountain.”
Besides the wastes that have been handed out to SPCC, the remainder has been flown to Kathmandu. “These wastes include metals, cans, helicopter parts and oxygen cylinders. We’ll be handing them to the Nepal Foundry Industries Ltd.
They will melt the metals and create gift items that will be sold to fund public awareness programs in the Khumbu region,” stated Pokharel.
While the project was successful in bringing down a huge amount of waste from the world’s highest peak, waste management is still a problem.
Janardan Subedi, Professor of Medical Sociology at Miami University who was on a trek to the EBC with his 20 American students, was skeptical about the project’s
achievement.
“Taking down the waste collected here to Kathmandu isn’t sustainable in the long run. Kathmandu itself is already dipped in waste, and flying down the waste appears ridiculous. A landfill site must be made in the Khumbu region.”
Sherpa of Eco Himal mentioned that the project was working to create a recycling factory for plastic products.
“Tourists who visit the Khumbu region take in a minimum intake of six liters of mineral water everyday. With more than 30,000 tourists coming here to trek in a season, the numbers of plastic bottles are ever increasing,” he said.
Since 1953, more than 3,500 mountaineers have reached the top of Mt Everest. Most expedition teams have left trails of wastes. But in recent years, the trend of cleaning Mt Everest has come in vogue. Mountaineers like Dawa Steven Sherpa, Ken Noguchi and Apa Sherpa are supporting the cause.
The government’s decision to require each expedition team to deposit an amount of US$4,000 for garbage and human waste disposal is another initiative.
But if the fragile environment of Mt Everest is to be preserved, the waste that has accumulated in the region from years of negligent climbing needs to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Nepali tourism economy depends heavily on expedition teams who are all over the slopes of Mt Everest but strict laws need to be regulated before it is too late. From porters and locals to mountaineers, each must contribute to maintaining the sanctity of Everest.
Climbing Mt Everest isn’t an issue, cleaning it is.
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