Everest climbers will now be required to bring poo down to base camp

KATHMANDU: Mountaineers attempting to climb Mt Everest (8,848.46m) will have to bring their urine and feces down to the base camp from the coming season.

Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, the local government unit that covers most of the Everest region, made the decision, concluding that human waste was polluting the tallest mountain on Earth.

The Municipal Executive Meeting held last week decided to make the mountain free from human waste, according to Minghma Chhiri Sherpa, the chairman of the rural municipality. “Since the responsibility of waste management has been delegated to the local unit, we have made it mandatory for climbers to bring down their urine and feces to the base camp for safe disposal,” Sherpa said.

According to Sherpa, the rural municipality will implement the decision strictly and appropriate punishment will be handed to violators.

The rural municipality plans to provide two bags containing chemicals to solidify human waste. Each bag can be used five or six times.