Published: | Updated:

WHAT IS BEING DONE TO REDUCE RUBBISH ON MOUNT EVEREST?

Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world's highest rubbish dump. 

As the number of climbers on the mountain has soared - at least 600 people have scaled the world's highest peak so far this year alone - the problem of waste disposal has worsened. 

The worst rubbish is found at Camp Two, which is 21,000 foot (6,400m) above sea level. 

Five years ago Nepal implemented a $4,000 (£3,000) rubbish deposit per team that would be refunded if each climber brought down at least eight kilograms (18 pounds) of waste.

On the Tibet side of the Himalayan mountain, they are required to bring down the same amount and are fined $100 (£75) per kilogram if they don't.

In 2017 climbers in Nepal brought down nearly 25 tonnes of trash and 15 tonnes of human waste - the equivalent of three double-decker buses - according to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC).

This season even more was carried down but this is just a fraction of the rubbish dumped each year, with only half of climbers lugging down the required amounts, the SPCC says.

Instead many climbers opt to forfeit the deposit, a drop in the ocean compared to the $20,000 (£15,000) - $100,000 (£75,000) they will have forked out for the experience.

Another solution, believes Ang Tsering Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, would be a dedicated rubbish collection team. 

Advertisement

Read articles that feature this panel

Discarded climbing equipment and rubbish scattered around Camp 4 of Mount Everest, where decades of commercial mountaineering have left a trail of discarded waste The highest rubbish dump in the world: How big-spending climbers have turned Mount Everest into a 'disgusting eyesore' littered with...

As the number of climbers on Mount Everest has soared - at least 600 people have scaled the world's highest peak so far this year alone -...

Seagull pictured CHOKING on a corn on the cob husk and stick, as photographer hits out at beachgoers who leave their litter behind

Pauline Guppy tried to help the bird when she saw it with leftover food in its beak at the popular Sandbanks Beach in Poole, Dorset.

China will limit the number of visitors to Everest as a mass clean-up begins on the world's highest mountain to rid it of rubbish

Each year, around 60,000 climbers and guides visit the Chinese north side of the mountain, which China refers to by its Tibetan name, Mount...

Hikers are forced to clean up their faeces on an Alaskan glacier as 66 TONS of waste has built up over decades 

Climate change might expose tons of human excrement left behind by climbers at Denali National Park in Alaska as park officials fear it is...

Prof. John All of Western Washington University, gestures as he speaks with the Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, June 4, 2019. The U.S. scientist says Mount Everest and its surrounding peaks are increasingly polluted and warmer, and nearby glaciers are melting at an alarming rate that is likely make it dangerous for future climbers. (AP Photo/Bikram Rai) Scientist warns climbing Mount Everest will be even MORE dangerous in the future due to rising temperatures and pollution trapped in the...

Mount Everest and its surrounding peaks are increasingly polluted and warmer, and nearby glaciers are melting at an alarming rate that is...

People climbing Mount Everest will now have to bring their own poo back to base camp - as experts warn the world's highest mountain has...

The new rules come amid concerns excrement left on Everest does not fully degrade, with some climbers even falling sick.

Mount Everest is turning into the world's highest garbage dump: Shocking map reveals the sheer scale of rubbish left on the mountain

As Mount Everest risks becoming the world's highest garbage dump, the MailOnline has created this shocking map to reveals how much waste is...

How climbers could tackle Everest in a WEEK - thanks to a controversial gas that's banned in professional sport

A group of mountaineers plan to travel from Heathrow to the summit of Mount Everest and back in just seven days - a feat which usually takes...

Breathtaking! Polish daredevil becomes the first person to climb then ski down Mount Everest - without bottled oxygen

Andrzej Bargiel, 37, has become the first person to ski down Mount Everest without any bottled oxygen.

Now that's what you call a blast from the past! British twin explorers put George Mallory's 1920s Everest kit to the test - by summiting a...

Two British explorers have put George Mallory's 1920s Everest kit to the ultimate test by wearing it up a Himalayan mountain.

Rubbish collection scheme on Mount Everest is scrapped after dishonest climbers found ways to cheat the system

A scheme to encourage climbers to bring rubbish down from Mount Everest has been scrapped, after dishonest mountaineers found ways to cheat...

Most watched News videos