Nepal to scrap Everest waste deposit scheme after years of mounting rubbish
Nepal scraps Everest scheme after more than a decade
- Nepal is set to discontinue its long-standing waste deposit scheme for Mount Everest climbers, which required a $4,000 (£2,960) deposit reclaimable upon returning with 8kg of waste at the end of their expedition.
- Officials said the scheme, introduced over a decade ago, failed to significantly reduce rubbish accumulation, particularly at higher altitudes, and became an administrative burden.
- The primary issue is that significant amounts of waste, such as tents, food containers, and oxygen bottles, are left at higher camps where monitoring and removal are difficult and dangerous.
- The current refundable deposit will be replaced with a non-refundable clean-up fee of $4,000 (£2,960), pending parliamentary approval, to fund additional checkpoints and mountain rangers.
- This new fee is part of a five-year mountain clean-up action plan aimed at creating a dedicated fund for enforcement and clean-up efforts across Nepal's major climbing peaks.