Huge piles of waste that have turned the Himalayas into a gigantic rubbish dump are exposed
Mountaineers have turned the Himalayas into a 'gigantic rubbish bin' according to a conservationist on a mission to clean up the mountain range. Luc Boisnard, 53, said that climbers also threw waste into glaciers from where it would 're-emerge in 200 years', according to The Times. The alpinist - who was part of an expedition that cleared out 3.7 tonnes of waste off Makalu, the world's fifth highest summit and Annapurna, the tenth highest - founded , a community clean up campaign to raise awareness about Himalayan pollution, following a previous expedition in 2010 to remove a tonne of waste from Everest. Footage from the expedition shows Boisnard and his team trudging through heaps of waste, including plastic bottles, sanitation pads and abandoned tents. 'Behind every rock you find lots of oxygen bottles, tins, canvas and shoes. It's really appalling,' the Frenchman said, adding that 45 per cent of the waste was plastic. Boisnard had been climbing Makalu - located 12 miles southeast of Mount Everest in the Mahalangur Himalayas - with ten sherpas, two Nepalese high-altitude specialists and five cooks to collect the rubbish, but was forced to give up after developing a lung infection. It comes after Nepalese authorities introduced a law in 2014 which requires climbers to leave a 'garbage deposit' prior to their ascents. The fee is 528,000 Nepalese rupees (3238) for Everest and 396,300 (2428) for other summits higher than 26,250ft. If climbers bring down the 8kg of waste they produce, the money is refunded. However, critics have argued that the scheme is ineffective. A 2022 analysis by Lincoln University determined that the Garbage Deposit Scheme (GDS) 'has not accomplished the desired objectives in waste management, particularly because of its low level of acceptance among stakeholders and low level of government support,' according to Tsewang Nuru Sherpa. Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja, featured in Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible - which details his attempt to clean every peak higher than 8,000 metres (26,250ft) - is also alerting people to the issue of pollution in the Himalayas. Purja has launched the Big Mountain Clean-up project, and he and his team, Nimsdai, removed 500kg of waste from Manaslu two years ago, the world's eighth-highest mountain. According to Nimsdai's website, the project 'has a zero-tolerance approach to the waste being generated by the increasingly popular expedition culture which is now having a detrimental impact upon those living in and around the mountains.' The waste, according to observers, is a by-product of this 'expedition culture', with roughly 600 people climbing Everest every year, and high numbers also climbing other summits. A total of 145 mountaineers ascended K2, the world's second-highest mountain, in only one day last year. Bachendri Pal - the first Indian woman to climb Everest in 1984 - has hit back against what she calls the growing commercial nature of Everest, which she says now attracts wealthy but increasingly incompetent climbers. 'Now, anyone who has the money is allowed to climb as though it's a tourist spot, with 600 people climbing every year. It's crazy,' she told The Times of India.