Mount Everest Human Waste - Human waste - feces, urine and trash - left by climbers of the world's highest peak has reportedly become a problem already. On Tuesday, Ang Tshering, the chief of Nepal's mountaineering association, said the Mount Everest human waste is now causing pollution and even threatening to spread disease.
Apparently, after spending nearly two months on Everest's slopes each climbing season, the more than 700 climbers and guides leave explicably large amounts of feces and urine.
Despite this knowledge, Tshering said that the issue of the Mount Everest human waste has still yet to be addressed. He added that Nepal's government needs to impose a rule on the climbers to dispose of their waste properly in order for the mountain to remain pristine.
Not only is there Mount Everest human waste left by the climbers, they also leave massive amount of trash after their climb, reported CBS News.
At the base camp, an area with more porters, cooks and support staff during the climbing season, there are toilet tents with drums for waste storage. Once the drums are filled, they are carried to a lower area for waste to be disposed of properly, according to The Independent.
After this, climbers reportedly then spend weeks acclimatising around the four camps set up between the base camp at 5,300 meters (17,380 feet) and the 8,850-meter-high (29,035-foot-high) summit. However, though the camps have tents and some essential equipment and supplies, they lack proper toilets.
According to Tshering, this means the Mount Everest human waste is only deposited through holes dug in the snow, and the human excrement has already been piling up for the last four years.
"It is a health hazard and the issue needs to be addressed," said Dawa Steven Sherpa on the issue of the Mount Everest human waste. Sherpa leads Everest cleanup expeditions.
However, the Nepalese Government has yet to come up with a plan to tackle the Mount Everest human waste problem left behind by climbers, according to Puspa Raj Katuwal, head of the government's Mountaineering Department.
The Nepali government has already implemented a new rule last year, aiming to persuade trekkers to clean up after themselves after climbing the mountain.
Now, Nepali officials at the Everest base camp are checking each climber descending the mountain. They make sure that each person descending has approximately 18 pounds of trash, which is the amount the government estimates an exhausted climber discards along the route.
If the climbing teams fail to comply with the regulations, they are required to pay a $4,000 (£2, 600) deposit.
Officials stationed at the base camp will reportedly be strictly monitoring the Mount Everest human waste beginning this season, said Katuwal, according to The Guardian.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
