What gets left behind at the top of the world?

Image Credits: Nepali Times

When the world shut down in March 2020 to stamp out the coronavirus, the planet breathed relief. In just a couple of months, the sky, free of pollution, was pristine blue and rare birds were spotted in cities.

The horizon was so clear that mountain ranges could be seen from cities miles away. What hid in plain sight were mountains of rubbish that have piled up on these majestic peaks over the years.

According to the Himalayan Database, every year around 800 climbers attempt to summit the tallest peak in the world—Mount Everest. The number has gone up from 20 in 1964 to about 36,000 in 2012 and up to 140,000 kg of solid waste is estimated to remain after 60 years of expeditions.

Image Credits: BBC

Trashing the top of the world

It takes an average of 50 days to scale the mountain. In this duration, every climber generates about eight kilograms of waste, most of which gets left behind. People who die above 5000 meters on the Everest trail are left behind as well. The body and the equipment they used while climbing is impossible to bring down, which adds to the pollution. 

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer from the mountaineering and rock climbing unit, who didn't wish to be identified, told Moneycontrol, “I trailed the Everest Base Camp in Monsoon 2021, and the lower trails up to the base camp are very clean and properly managed. The real mess starts after that and there’s no permanent solution to it."

"The Nepal government is paying Sherpas 1000-1800 NPR per kg depending on the altitude from where they carried the waste, but steepness, remoteness, socio-economic conditions, and vulnerability to natural hazards, makes waste management in higher camps more challenging." he added. 

On plastic trail

The plastic waste that is left behind in the mountains has huge environmental costs. Plastic is a natural heat absorbent, which means it increases the temperature. It can result in faster melting of glaciers, formation of glacial lakes and eventually, outbursts that can flood millions downstream.

Plastics can also clog streams and rivers, which are the primary source of water for mountain wildlife. If ingested, they can cause cancer and lead to the death of large numbers of species that are already vulnerable. In short, plastic can cause damage to mountain ecosystems that can have repercussions for decades if not centuries to come. 

The cost of scaling Everest has skyrocketed. In his blog How Much Does it Cost to Climb Mount Everest?–2022 Edition, mountaineer Alan Arnette writes, “Most people pay between $40,000 and $50,000, and some will pay as much as $160,000! But, the prices are going up.”.

The cost can broadly be distributed in four categories—travel, permits & insurance, supplies & gear, and guides—regardless of the route taken, from Nepal or Tibet.

In the climbing permit, the "Nepal garbage and human waste deposit" is charged at $4,000 per team. This is, however, a refundable deposit and is the only charge towards cleaning the trails. 

Tshering Sherpa, a 42-year-old local who has climbed Sagarmatha (head of the sea), as Everest is known in Nepali, 16 times, says a few years ago, Nepal started collecting a $4,000 deposit per team to be refunded if the members were to bring back 8 kg of litter, not including oxygen cylinders and human waste.

"This might sound like a substantial policy to curb littering, but deposits are being returned without keeping a proper check on the amount of waste being brought back,” he told Moneycontrol over the phone from Kathmandu.  “It’s easier said than done, but the government needs to enforce these rules and motivate climbers.”

Though mountaineering organisations saw the pandemic as a golden opportunity to clean the trails that were free of tourists, the Nepal government suspended permits and forced shut down of cleaning projects. With no tourists or climbers, it would have been easier for the Sherpas to carry out the cleaning, which would have also given them much-needed employment.

According to the World Bank, the tourism industry in Nepal contributes approximately 4 percent to the country’s GDP and supports more than 6 percent of the total employment, direct and indirect.  

In 2018, scientists discovered particles of microplastic at the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest point in the western Pacific Ocean.

Two years later in 2020, microplastics were found in all the snow samples collected from 11 locations on Everest, ranging from 5,300 metres to 8,440 metres high. 

Is there hope for Everest? The Carry Me Back campaign, led by Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, in collaboration with Yeti Airlines, which claims to be the first carbon-neutral airline in Nepal and South Asia, focuses on segregating and sending garbage down to Kathmandu from the trails.

Locals are converting some of the waste to "Everest Art", which is used to raise funds for the clean-up. Such inspired efforts from multiple organisations are keeping the mountains from suffocating.