The phrase “leave no trace” is a phrase I’ve heard my entire life. Through Scouting, visits to state and national parks, hiking, and just general outdoor awareness, the importance of leaving the places visited (particularly wild areas) without any visible signs of one's presence is a consistently taught practice. Hikers, skiers, climbers, hunters, boaters—anyone who spends time outdoors—has had this bedrock of wilderness ethics impressed upon them.  

rocky mountain covered with snow during daytime
Garbage left on Mt. Everest

A Mountain of Waste

It is ironic that Mt. Everest, the height of wilderness, has become labelled as “the world’s highest garbage dump.” With 90% of its climbers having no climbing background, they purchase the adventure with large amount of cash (between $30,000 and $120,00 for a guided experience), but often bring little sense of responsibility or care for the wilderness they are climbing through.

The 600 climbers each year who attempt to "conquer" Mt. Everest generate about 18 pounds of trash apiece during the weeks they spend in the area getting ready for the climb. Most of this trash (empty oxygen canisters, abandoned tents, food containers, human feces) is left on the mountain, even though the government of Nepal requires all climbers to carry down 18 lbs. of garbage (the equivalent of what they generate) or pay a $4,000 fine. Sherpas, often carrying the climber's equipment as well as their own, do not have the capacity to carry the garbage down as well. For the climbers, adding another $4,000 onto the bill is the easiest, though least responsible choice. Nepal's Department of Tourism estimates that there is nearly 140,000 tons of waste on Mt. Everest alone.

To tackle the problem of Himalayan garbage, in 2019 the Nepal government launched a "Safa Himal Aviyan" (Clean Mountain Campaign). During the 2024 campaign, the Nepal army spent 55 days removing 12 tons of waste from the Himalayan mountains of Everest, Nuptse, and Lhotse. Once removed from the mountain, biodegradable waste is securely dumped, recyclables are recycled, and efforts are made to reuse what is left over.

Small Steps in Sustainability

Climbing ropes that have been used and then abandoned on the mountains make up a large portion of the non-recyclable, non-biodegradable waste from the Himalayas. Organizations, such as the Avni Center Sustainability in Kathmandu, Nepal are coming up with creative ways to keep these out of the landfills.

A basket made from discarded rope

Avni, headed by a woman named Shilshila Acharya, works with the Nepal Knotcraft Centre to connect to indigenous Tharu craftswomen, (an ethnic group in southern Tibet and northern India). Using discarded climbing ropes and traditional weaving skills, the women create such things as baskets, mats, and jewelry boxes. There are currently 15 women who weave the ropes together and then bind them with grass gathered from riverbanks. A woman named Sunita Kumari Chaudhary is the one currently training the women.

Women working in Kathmandu Valley Nepal to reuse trash from Mt. Everest, NPR

The handicrafts the women create are sold at craft exhibitions and at an outlet in Kathmandu, with the women's pay based on the number of items they make and sell. They end up earning a little more than Nepal's minimum wage. Job hours are flexible, so the women are able to work, earn money, and still keep up with their household tasks.

It is still a small enterprise and more partners and outside resources are needed to expand the work in sustainable ways. Sorting and cleaning the discarded materials to make them usable takes a great deal of time and labor. Of the 55 tons of non-biodegradable waste that the Avni processing center has received from the Clean Mountain Campaigns, 15 tons are waiting in storage to be sorted and processed.

In light of the 140,000 tons of waste on Mt. Everest alone, this effort can seem small. "While this may seem insignificant compared to waste in the mountains, it's a start," Acharya says. Avni's ultimate goal is for no waste from the Himalayas to end up in a landfill. Crafts like those created by the Tharu can increase awareness of the problem as people learn how and why the crafts were made, even as the waste is turned into attractive and useful articles. Ideally, this increased awareness could prompt more responsible attitudes on the part of climbers and those who regulate the climbers, making the ambitious goal of Avni more reachable.

Awareness and Action

Ultimately, the best scenario would be a system where those who climb the mountain treat the wilderness they climb through with respect and care—a system where climbers take seriously their personal responsibility to "leave no trace." A few people by themselves can't fix the problem of 140,000 tons of garbage left in a barely accessible wilderness, but as people see what is being done by others, it can spark ideas for how they might also contribute to the solution.

As part of the human community, treating the Earth with care and respect is a responsibility for all of us to consider and act upon. Do you have ideas for how you can clean up a mess you personally have created? Or a mess that the human community you are a part of has created?

Feel free to leave a comment below (you can sign in through your email) or contact me directly at louise.conner@circlewood.online.

Louise