Nepal to turn Everest trash into art to highlight mountain’s garbage blight

KATHMANDU – Trash collected from Mount Everest is set to be transformed into art and displayed in a nearby gallery, to highlight the need to save the world’s tallest mountain from turning into a dumping site.
Used oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, broken ladders, cans and plastic wrappers discarded by climbers and trekkers litter the 8,848.86 metre (29,032 feet) tall peak and the surrounding areas.
Tommy Gustafsson, project director and a co-founder of the Sagarmatha Next Centre – a visitors’ information centre and waste up-cycling facility – said foreign and local artists will be engaged in creating artwork from waste materials and train locals to turn trash into treasures.
“We want to showcase how you can transform solid waste to precious pieces of art … and generate employment and income,” Gustafsson told Reuters.
“We hope to change the people’s perceptions about the garbage and manage it,” he said.
The Centre is located at an altitude of 3,780 metres at Syangboche on the main trail to Everest base camp, two days’ walk from Lukla, the gateway to the mountain.
It is due for “soft opening” to locals in the spring as the number of visitors could be limited this year due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Gustafsson said.
Products and artwork will be displayed to raise environmental awareness, or sold as souvenirs with the proceeds going to conservation of the region, he said.
Trash brought down from the mountain or collected from households and tea houses along the trail is handled and segregated by a local environmental group, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, but the task in a remote region that has no roads is a huge challenge.
Garbage is dumped or burned in open pits, causing air and water pollution as well as contamination of soil.
Phinjo Sherpa, of the Eco Himal group involved in the scheme, said under a “carry me back” initiative, each returning tourist and guide will be requested to take a bag containing one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of garbage back to Lukla airport, from where the trash will be airlifted to Kathmandu.
In 2019, more than 60,000 trekkers, climbers and guides visited the area.
“We can manage a huge amount of garbage if we involve the visitors,” Sherpa said.
Everest was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Nearly 4,000 people have since made 6,553 ascents from the Nepali side of the mountain, which can also be climbed from the Tibetan side in China, according to the Himalayan Data base. REUTERS
Read More

Spread the love
Nicholas ‘Nick’ Statman entered the property industry in 2001 and set up a property buying company that quickly established itself as one of the biggest in the sector. During this time the Company successfully transacted on thousands of residential properties across the UK. Nicholas Statman was an early pioneer of the ‘quick sale’ niche market which has since grown considerably with a multitude of companies now operating in the sector. Nicholas Statman has strategically built a sizeable residential and commercial property portfolio with a view to holding for optimum capital growth and a long term passive income. Nicholas Statman has been involved in almost every aspect of the property sector over a 20 year period – this includes buying and selling, development, letting and management and is now involved in the fast growing online/ hybrid Estate Agent industry.

Latest articles

Stablecoin reserves hit record $50B – Will this impact...

Stablecoins supply on exchanges hits all time high of $50B, boosting crypto liquidity and signaling rising investor confidence...

Uniswap – Why THESE datasets point to a UNI...

UNI rises 5% as usage spikes, but resistance and whale hesitation threaten upside...

Bitcoin mining difficulty eases from all-time high – Here’s...

Public miners are thriving by increasing output and stacking BTC...

POPCAT defends $0.30 – THESE bullish crossovers indicate a...

Popcat is attempting a breakout from a descending channel as it surges 9.08% over the past day, amid a higher buying pressure...

Similar articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Subscribe to our newsletter

Spread the love