Mount Everest: The World's Highest rubbish dump

The earth's highest mountain has become the world's highest rubbish dump due to the decades of commercial mountaineering.

The route to the summit of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak is littered with filthy human impressions in the form of Fluorescent tents, discarded climbing equipment, empty gas canisters, ugly footprints and even human excrement.

Pemba Dorje Sherpa who has climbed the mountain 18 times describes the sight of the Everest as " disgusting and eyesore". He further said that the mountain is carrying tonnes of waste.

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The problem has worsened with the rise in the number of climbers. At least 600 people have climbed the world's highest peak so far this year alone.

Adding to this is the after effects of global warming which is melting the glaciers and exposing the trash accumulated on the mountain since the first summit.

The first ever summit to the highest peak was made by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay 65 years ago.

The Nepal government have made efforts to keep a check on the rising rubbish deposit.

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

While Tibet on the other side of the Himalayan mountain, they are required to bring down the same amount and are fined $100 per kilogramme if they don't.

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

The SPCC further said that even more rubbish was carried down this year. It, however, added that only half of the climbers make effort in bringing down the garbage.

Many climbers choose to forfeit the deposit, a drop in the ocean compared to the $20,000-$100,000 they will have forked out for the experience.

Some officials also accept small bribes to turn a blind eye to the littering in the region.

The Everest industry has boomed in the last two decades sparking concerns of overcrowding as well as fears that ever more inexperienced mountaineers are being drawn by low-cost expedition operators desperate for customers.

One of the serious concern of the growing pollution in the mountain is that it is also affecting water sources down in the valley.

The raw sewage in the base camp is carried to the next village and is dumped into trenches. This is later flushed downhill into the rivers during the monsoon.

Engineers are planning to install a biogas plant near Everest base camp that would turn climber poo into a useful fertiliser.

A former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association on the other hand advice for a dedicated rubbish collection team.

(With inputs from AFP)