Disheartening video shows how Everest has turned into ‘world’s highest garbage dump’

The abandoned food containers, tents, and empty oxygen tanks are littered across base camp on Mount Everest.

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Exactly 70 years ago, on May 29, 2023, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest and made history by scaling the tallest mountain in the world. In decades since the advancement in technical know-how of mountain climbing has allowed many more people to climb Everest.

As per an estimate by National Geographic, each climber on Everest generates around eight kilograms of waste that includes abandoned food containers, tents, and empty oxygen tanks. This waste gets left behind across the icy landscape. Therefore the increase in the number of climbers on Everest has directly led to the increase in garbage left behind by the mountainers. The harsh climatic conditions make waste removal and management particularly difficult.

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On Sunday, Everest Today (@EverestToday), a portal dedicated to Everest climbing, tweeted a video that showed the remains of abandoned tents littered across Camp IV which is located at the height of 8848.86 meters above the sea level.

Disheartening to see the accumulation of garbage at Camp IV on Mt #Everest (8848.86 m). It's high time we address this issue with urgency and commitment. Let's demand stricter regulations, enforcement of clean climbing practices, and effective waste management strategies. Video… pic.twitter.com/KGMlRmUuZk

— Everest Today (@EverestToday) May 28, 2023

The video prompted a discussion about sustainable climbing regulations and waste management. Commenting on it, a Twitter user wrote, “We as humans might have scaled insurmountable summits but we’ve surely stepped too low in our conduct and compassion towards Nature. Be it #mountains or #forests #rivers we’ve not spared nature’s resource from our interference, pollution and destruction.” Another person wrote, “Either make clean up part of your expedition or don’t allow people up there. There is no excuse for this disgusting behaviour.”