Each year, more than 700 people scale Mount Everest and the human waste they leave behind is a toxic hazard.
From The Guardian:
Climbers spend weeks acclimatising around the four camps set up between the base camp at 5,300m (17,380ft) and the 8,850m-high (29,035ft) summit. The camps have tents and some essential equipment and supplies, but do not have toilets.
“Climbers usually dig holes in the snow for their toilet use and leave the human waste there,” (chief of Nepal’s mountaineering association Ang) Tshering said, adding that the waste has been “piling up” for years around the four camps.
At the base camp, where there are more porters, cooks and support staff during the climbing season, there are toilet tents with drums to store the waste. Once filled, the drums are carried to a lower area, where the waste is properly disposed.
Dawa Steven Sherpa, who has been leading Everest cleanup expeditions since 2008, said some climbers carry disposable travel toilet bags to use in the higher camps.
“It is a health hazard and the issue needs to be addressed,” he said.
“Too much human poo on Mount Everest, says Nepal” (The Guardian)
image: Luca Galuzzi, CC BY-SA
