Garbage was sorted for collection during the latest climbing season on the north side of Mt. Qomolangma, officials from the Tibet Mountaineering Association said on Sunday.
As the climbing season ended at the end of May, the association, which administers all mountaineering activities on the north side of Mt. Qomolangma – known in the west as Mt. Everest – is still busy sorting the accumulation of garbage over the past few months.
"The total volume of garbage produced by climbers amounts to 13 tons. It is generally classified into domestic waste and mountaineering garbage," said Pema Tinley, deputy director of the association, adding that his department had already prepared different containers for the collection of different types of waste before the season began.
Pooling wisdom from international practice, domestic waste is further sorted into kitchen waste, human waste, polluted water, cigarettes, and others. At the base camp of 5,200 meters, each waste category is placed into separate drums that the association gave out to all nine teams registered to climb from the north side this year.
A base camp of Mount Qomolangma in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. /VCG Photo
Assigned as general liaison officer of the 2019 climbing season of Mt. Qomolangma on the north side, Tinley started working on the mountain in early April. Fellow colleague Dechen Udrup was appointed to take charge of environmental protection.
"We went to each team every day to see if they were sorting garbage as we required, and sometimes we went up to the camps at 5,800 and 6,500 meters. Garbage-sorting also needed to be implemented up there," said Udrup.
An eco-friendly toilet was also added at the camp at 7,028 meters this year. Climbers were asked to put their waste into a barrel with rubbish bags underneath the toilet. Similar facilities were also installed at camps at 5,200 meters, 5,800 meters, and 6,500 meters. All were removed as the climbing season ended.
Nepali workers search for recyclable materials from a pile of waste collected from Mount Qomolangma in Kathmandu, Nepal, June 5, 2019. /VCG Photo
"We have done research and discovered that when climbing above 7,500 meters, climbers produce little waste apart from a little urine, because people tend to eat less and consume energy faster at this extreme altitude," Tinley said, pointing out that there is no need for a toilet above 7,500 meters for the time being.
Bringing all the garbage down from such a high altitude is no easy task. This year, the association drew on more help from locals. Villagers down the mountain could volunteer to transport garbage down, and the association would pay them according to the weight of the garbage.
Meanwhile, the Himalayan environmental protection team, which is composed of local villagers, is still functioning as it has been since 2017. A group of locals are hired to collect and transport garbage at the three camps below 6,500 meters. Those full-time cleaners receive daily pay during the climbing season.
A Nepali worker piles up sacks of waste collected from Mount Qomolangma, June 5, 2019. /VCG Photo
"The best way to protect our Qomolangma is to get everyone involved," said Tinley, noting that apart from money, the villagers could also take human waste and kitchen waste home, which could then be made into fertilizer or be fed to livestock.
As for mountaineering waste, which includes used tents, ropes, oxygen bottles, and batteries, mountaineering guides would also get paid if they brought such waste down from above 7,028 meters, where the villagers were not able to go.
"Used climbing gear is of great value if we use it in the right way. Tents and oxygen bottles can be used again," said Udrup, adding that a program aimed at recycling mountaineering waste had been set up in Lhasa, and artists had been invited to design artworks out of it.
(Cover photo via VCG)