AMN
A clean-up drive has been initiated at the Mount Everest in Nepal. It aims at airlifting 100 tonnes of waste left behind by tourists and climbers of the World’s Highest Mountain.
This year’s clean-up campaign is focused on items that could be recycled in the capital city. Privately-owned airlines are helping in the cause by transporting these items. On its first day yesterday, about 1,200kg of waste was flown from Lukla airport to Kathmandu for recycling.
Clean-up programmes had run by local guides, known as Sherpas, for decades, but are now coordinated by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee.
Mountaineers are required to bring back whatever waste they generate on their climb. But every year, local guides gather piles of rubbish.