Imagine the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, covered in tons of trash! Yes, you read that right. In just 60 days, drones from Erlift Technology, a Nepal-based company, collected a whopping one ton of waste from this majestic peak. But this isn’t just any trash – empty oxygen bottles, broken ladders, torn tents, ripped clothes, and leftover food – all lying on a place that should be a symbol of natural purity and wilderness.
This cleanup operation, organized by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, highlights how serious the pollution problem on Everest really is. The drones, capable of flying in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius and withstanding winds up to 40 km/h, assisted volunteers and Sherpas in removing garbage from altitudes around 6,000 meters.
But why has Everest become a dumping ground? The major issue is the temporary camps at high altitudes where climbers leave their trash behind. Nepalese authorities have introduced a rule that every climber must bring back at least 8 kilograms of waste, or they lose a $4,000 deposit. Still, despite these measures, one cleanup operation collected as much as 10 tons of garbage, and the bodies of four climbers who died attempting to conquer the summit were found.
This isn’t the first time such operations have been carried out – over the past five years, several tons of waste have been removed from Everest. But the question remains: how long can this mountain endure human greed and irresponsibility? While we admire its height and beauty, it suffers under the weight of our trash.
If you think this is far from your life, think again. Everest is a symbol of nature and human spirit, and if we don’t learn to protect it, what do we have left? Maybe it’s time for all of us, at least in the comments, to show how much we care about the planet. Or at least have a laugh at those who left their garbage on the roof of the world. Who knows, maybe your comment will be the drop that starts an avalanche of change!
