Kathmandu: Amid widespread concern over waste piling up in the Nepal Himalaya, including at Mount Everest, the government has introduced a five-year strategy to tackle the issue. Its key purposes are maintaining the beauty, cleanliness and ecological balance of Nepal’s mountains.In the recent past, domestic as well as international tourists have shown keen interest in climbing the Himalayas. Between January and December 2024, a total of 422 people were granted permission to climb Everest, of whom 299 people reached its summit.Simultaneously, there have been reports of waste piling up at Nepal’s mountains, which has become more visible amid higher snowmelt.The five-year strategy that has been endorsed by the cabinet also speaks about limiting the number of climbers. Following reported ‘traffic jams’ at Mt Everest over the past few years – which occurred in 2025 as well – there have been talks about limiting the number of climbers but no decision was taken to this effect. Local entrepreneurs and some other stakeholders have opposed such a move stating that it would affect the growing tourism industry.In this regard, the document says: “Legal and policy arrangements will be made to determine the number of climbers and the timing of expeditions by considering the mountain’s capacity, a short favourable window available for climbing and possible congestion on the mountains.”It notes that with an increase in the number of climbers there have been increasing threats to the local environment and biodiversity, pollution and piling of waste.Attempts have been made for two and a half decades to remove the garbage but these efforts have produced very few results.Japanese citizen Ken Noguchi began a cleanup campaign for Mt Everest in 2000 and such efforts continued for a number of years. In 2008, according to the government document, the Asian Trekking organisation began an annual Eco Everest Expedition aimed at retrieving waste left by mountain climbers. Starting 2011, Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation has required that every person climbing Everest bring back eight kilos of waste each while returning.Nepal’s army, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee and some private sector airlines too have launched waste management initiatives.Also read: Melting Glaciers, Garbage Crisis Mire Mount Everest’s 70th Summit AnniversaryDespite these efforts, the amount of waste is increasing, sending out a negative message to the world about Nepal’s mountains, said Fur Gelje Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA). His organisation is working to introduce a zero-garbage initiative and it is ready to collaborate with government agencies to manage the waste in the Himalayas, he added.The major components of the new plan are stricter waste management, removal of the deposit system and the use of new technology, including drones, to extract garbage. The ministry has argued that a new strategy is necessary because of the failure to properly manage waste such as human excreta, dead bodies, cans, bottles, plastics, tents and bags, which are impacting the country’s fragile mountains.Of the world’s 14 mountains higher than 8,000 metres, eight are in Nepal. The country has 28 mountain ranges, which are the primary sources of more than 6,000 small and large rivers and streams.Under the five-year action plan, an orientation on clean mountains will be included in the mandatory briefing conducted before climbing expeditions. During this process, written commitments will be obtained from expedition leaders, team members, agencies and liaison officers.According to the plan, a temporary waste collection centre will be established at Camp 2 on Mt Everest. To prevent waste above Camp 2 and reduce existing waste, every expedition team and climber will be required to bring back a minimum quantity of waste as specified by the Department of Tourism and mandatorily submit it at Camp 2.Over the next five years, feasibility studies will be conducted on the use of ropeways and drones for collecting waste above the base camps of mountains with high climbing activity, the document says. During this period, pilot testing of a GPS tracking system will also be carried out to facilitate the location of human remains.Currently, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee has taken on the responsibility of controlling pollution in the Khumbu region surrounding Mt Everest. The committee in collaboration with Khumbu Pasang Lhambhu Rural Municipality made poop bags mandatory above the base camp in 2024.Similarly, expedition operators have to pay a certain fee for waste management. In the case of mountains other than Everest, respective local bodies issue a garbage clearance letter.According to climbers, garbage is more visible mainly at Camps 2, 3 and 4 at Mt Everest. Similarly, over the past few years, more dead bodies have appeared along the climbing route due to melting snow. According to government figures, 304 climbers died between 1923 and 2019, and more than 200 dead bodies remain there.