Nepal removes tons of garbage, corpses and skeletons from Mount Everest
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3 months ago
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Nepal's army has removed tons of debris, four dead bodies and skeletal remains from Mount Everest and two other peaks in the country.
A series of cleaning drives spanning 55 days were held to clean Mount Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse under the campaign "An Effort to Save the Himalayas".
Prabhu Ram Sharma, Nepal's chief of army staff, said tonnes of rubbish, four human corpses and a skeleton were found in the Himalayas "under adverse weather conditions".
"This is an achievement mission as well as a readiness mission in which we have demonstrated our ability to complete our work in accordance with the goals and objectives that we have set and accepted," he said.
Mount Everest has long struggled with its status as the "world's highest garbage dump" with hundreds of climbers reaching the summit each year. Environmentalists have estimated that more than 50 tons of garbage and more than 200 dead bodies are buried on Everest.
The country's military began annual clean-up operations in 2019 amid concerns about the climate crisis threatening the existence of the world's highest mountain.
So far, five annual sweepers have collected 119 tonnes of rubbish, 14 human corpses and some skeletal remains, the army said, according to the BBC.
More than 600 people attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest each year, and each climber throws away an average of 8 kg of waste consisting of oxygen cylinders, tents, food containers and even human waste. This adds up to nearly five tons each climbing season (March-May).
In efforts to reduce waste, the Nepalese government has asked Everest climbers to bring their excrement to base camp in bags after climbing the world's highest mountain.
Local municipality Pasang Lhamu announced that climbers will be required to purchase bags at base camp, which will be "checked upon their return".
Amid concerns about overcrowding, the government issued 421 climbing permits, up from a record 478 last year. Number excludes Nepali guides.
About eight climbers have died or gone missing this year. It was one less compared to 19 last year.
