An alarming film depicts Mount Everest’s transformation into the “world’s highest garbage dump.” A video of trash piling up at a Mount Everest campground has gone viral on social media. Everest Today, a climbing portal, shared the video on Twitter to illustrate the alarming amount of abandoned tents and trash. And other plastic debris that has accumulated at Camp IV on the world’s highest peak.
Since then, social media users have urged climbers and local governments to confront the escalating environmental disaster. “Just because you like climbing mountains doesn’t make you an environmental expert,” one commentator pointed out. Most people do it for the thrill and adrenaline rush.
Concerning this shambles, it is the government’s responsibility to have hired staff or volunteers manage the climbing area’s upkeep. If they don’t want to do it, a non-profit should!.” “It is so easy and acceptable for some, and it appears many, to just walk away from their equipment, It’s a waste of supplies and waste, especially when multiple sponsors have paid for it,” said another. “Integrity means always doing the right activity, even when no one is looking.”
Mount Everest, also called in Nepal as “Sagarmatha” — or “Forehead in the Sky” — is the highest peak in the world. It has been increasingly crowded with climbers in recent years. According to National Geographic, each climber on Everest generates roughly eight kilos (nearly 17.6 pounds) of waste. Which includes food containers, tents, and empty oxygen bottles.
Climbers frequently discard heavy tents after a strenuous hike rather than lugging them back down the mountain. As a result, in the higher camps, shredded tents, food wrappers, and discarded oxygen bottles are left behind. Due to the increasing amount of waste and litter left behind by tourists in the area, the Chinese government closed down a base camp in 2019.
Garrett Madison, a well-known American mountain guide who recently completed his 13th ascent of Everest, underlined the importance of greater trash management and rule enforcement. Madison was cited as saying, “We need to find better ways to reduce waste.” “We need better policing to ensure that every team disposes of its garbage.”
Nepal has made it essential for climbers to carry their waste down from the summit and retrieve their $4,000 garbage deposit. Monitoring camps approximately 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) above sea level, on the other hand, has been difficult, according to local officials and expedition organizers.