Cleaning up 1.2 tons of trash on the "roof of the world" in just 1 day

About 1.2 tonnes of rubbish were collected from Everest but about 100 tonnes remain on the mountain. Photo: AFP

Local guides, known as Sherpas, have been cleaning up rubbish for years but the campaign is now being coordinated by the Sagamatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC).

Sagamatha is the local name for Mount Everest. However, Sherpas are still the ones who collect trash at very high altitudes.

BBC reported that on the first day (March 17), about 1.2 tons of garbage were transported by air from Lukla airport in Everest to the capital Kathmandu of Nepal for recycling.

Tourists and climbers are asked not to litter on the mountain, but every year Sherpas still collect tons of trash.

This year, the Rooftop Cleanup campaign focuses on collecting recyclable waste with the help of private airline Yeti, which will continue to help transport trash throughout the year.

Most of the trash left on the mountain is cans or water bottles, food containers and climbing equipment, most commonly oxygen tanks which are essential for high altitude mountain climbing.

According to SPCC, more than 100,000 people visited the Mount Everest region last year, of which about 40,000 participated in climbing or trekking.

In addition to industrial waste, SPCC and the Sherpas also have to deal with the biological waste of so many tourists on the mountain. In 2015, the Nepal Mountaineering Association warned that human excrement on the mountain had become a health problem.

Since then, SPCC has built portable toilets around popular hiker camping areas.

The large number of climbers has also led to safety concerns, forcing the Nepalese government last year to ban solo climbers and require foreign visitors to be accompanied by a Sherpa./.