Nepal plans 5-year clean-up drive to tackle decades of accumulated waste from Mount Everest

Nepal is set to launch a five-year Everest clean-up plan in line with a Supreme Court directive, as the world’s highest peak—often dubbed the Earth’s tallest garbage dump—grapples with decades of accumulated waste. Experts warn that the growing piles of trash collected each season highlight the urgent need for sustainable mountaineering practices.

Melting ice is exposing long-buried waste and even human remains, further exacerbating the problem of climate change. It also contaminates watersheds and poses a risk to downstream communities, according to a report in the Kathmandu Post.

Meanwhile, a draft of the Clean Mountain Strategy (2025–2029), reviewed by the post, allocates Rs 308 million for Everest clean-up efforts, though insiders estimate that the real cost will exceed Rs 1 billion. The plan proposes creating a specialised team of “Mountain Rangers,” composed of climbers, to monitor and manage waste at Everest Base Camp and higher camps. It also suggests exploring the use of drone technology to collect waste above the base camp.

What polluted the Everest region over a decade?

The burden of litter has scarred the Everest region for decades. Several climbers, Sherpas, guides, and porters left tonnes of waste materials that include oxygen canisters, ropes, plastic bottles, kitchen scraps, and human waste, polluting both the slopes and settlements downstream.

Plastic poses one of the gravest threats to Everest, as a single plastic bag can take up to 500 years to decompose. If burned, it releases toxins into the air; if buried, it contaminates the soil. With climbing traffic on the rise, plastic waste has steadily climbed to higher altitudes, making Everest a stark emblem of environmental neglect.

According to the Nepal Mountain Academy, rope-fixing teams leave behind nearly 400 kg of ladders and nylon ropes each year above the base camp. Buried under snow, these ropes can also remain on the mountain for decades.

Meanwhile, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee collected 85 tonnes of garbage in the 2024 spring season, including almost 28 tonnes of human waste, and the Nepali Army removed another 11 tonnes.

In order to reduce mounting pressure, Nepal has exponentially increased climbing fees. The royalty fee per foreign climber via the south route in spring has increased from $11,000 to $15,000 under revised regulations. In addition, climbers will also be required to pay a refundable garbage deposit as well as a non-refundable environmental fee.

Part of the climbing revenue will be set aside for clean-up drives, with local communities engaged in the process. The strategy also proposes charging expedition operators a waste management fee, following the “polluter pays” principle. A dedicated Mountain Clean-up Fund will be established, and climbers will be mandated to carry bottles for human waste. Industry experts, however, warn that Nepal is already behind schedule in implementing such measures.

“We proposed a $100 non-refundable per climber fee in 2010,” said Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal. “Had it been implemented, the fund would have exceeded Rs1 billion by now,” he also said. Similarly, China also introduced this measure in 2014.

Parajuli, Everest’s Camp IV, is the most polluted location, which requires enormous resources. “We estimate a minimum of Rs1 billion for five years. But frequent policy changes due to unstable governments have prevented consistent action," he said.

The draft strategy proposes stringent measures on equipment and materials, while also pushing to integrate environmental awareness into local curricula and expand such materials nationwide. However, some initiatives are already underway.

Climbers above base camp have been required to use poop bags since 2024 under the initiative of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality. Officials say the new plan aims to safeguard Everest’s global standing by aligning mountaineering goals with environmental responsibility. Experts, however, warn that without adequate funding, the mountain may continue to carry the stigma of being the world’s most visible garbage dump.