Mount Everest Climbers Will Have to Start Taking Their Poop with Them amid Waste Problem
The human waste is "polluting the mountain environment," said Diwas Pokhrel, the first vice president of Everest Summiteers Association
Mount Everest climbers will now have to pick up their own poop amid their travels on the mountain.
Nepal, the mountain’s home country, has mandated a new rule that climbers must bring their waste down with them from Earth's highest mountain above sea level in an effort to aid pollution issues.
“The problem of human waste on Everest was very bad,” Diwas Pokhrel, the first vice president of Everest Summiteers Association, told CNN. “It was polluting the mountain environment.”
A mountain cleanup campaign in 2023 collected more than 78,000 pounds of waste and plastics from Mount Everest, The Himalayan Times reported. A year prior, climbers generated a similar amount of human waste on the mountain, according to a report from Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee.
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According to CNN, Mount Everest climbers will now be given two bags for their waste that must come back down with them.
The biodegradable bags, the outlet said, contain a chemical that makes human waste fragrance-free.
Jinesh Sindurakar of the Nepal Mountaineering Association told CNN that an estimated 1,200 people will be on Everest this season.
“Each person produces 250 grams [8.8 ounces] of excrement a day, and they will spend two weeks on the higher camps for the summit push,” he explained, adding that Nepal’s Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality will issue thousands of waste bags.
Related: Sherpa Makes 'Almost Impossible' Rescue to Save Stranded Climber from Mount Everest’s 'Death Zone'
Before climbing Everest, travelers must spend plenty of time preparing for the harsh conditions found at the mountain.
They also must spend a large amount of money for the expedition. According to Outside, that includes a $11,000 requisite permit to climb the mountain.
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