Nepal Ends Ineffective Mount Everest Waste Deposit Scheme

Tue Dec 30 2025 06:26:26 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Nepalese authorities have announced the termination of a decade-old scheme requiring climbers to bring back waste from Mount Everest, citing its ineffectiveness in addressing the growing trash problem on the mountain.

After 11 years of implementation, the scheme that mandated climbers to return with waste from Mount Everest has been deemed a failure by Nepalese authorities. The initiative, intended to manage the increasing waste problem on the mountain, was unable to produce tangible results. A new non-refundable clean-up fee is now proposed to establish monitoring mechanisms for waste management at higher camps.

A scheme to encourage climbers to bring their waste down from Mount Everest is being scrapped - with Nepalese authorities telling the BBC it has been a failure.

Climbers had been required to pay a deposit of $4,000 (£2964), which they would only get back if they brought at least 8kg (18lbs) of waste back down with them.

It was hoped it would begin to tackle the rubbish problem on the world's highest peak, which is estimated to be covered in some 50 tonnes of waste.

But after 11 years - and with the rubbish still piling up - the scheme is being shelved because it failed to show a tangible result.

Himal Gautam, director at the tourism department, told the BBC that not only had the garbage issue not gone away, but the deposit scheme itself had become an administrative burden.

Tourism ministry and mountaineering department officials told the BBC most of the deposit money had been refunded over the years - which should mean most climbers brought back their trash.

However, the scheme is said to have failed because the rubbish climbers have brought back is usually from lower camps - not the higher camps where the garbage problem is worst. From higher camps, people tend to bring back oxygen bottles only, said Tshering Sherpa, chief executive officer of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee.

On average, a climber produces up to 12kg (26lbs) of waste on the mountain where they spend up to six weeks for acclimatization and climbing.

Besides the flawed rule that required climbers to bring back less trash than they produce, authorities in the Everest region pointed to lack of monitoring as a significant challenge. Nepalese authorities are now hopeful that a new scheme will be more effective.

The proposed new rule suggests a non-refundable clean-up fee from climbers will be implemented, which will fund the establishment of checkpoints at Camp Two and the deployment of mountain rangers to monitor higher parts of the mountain.

This fee is anticipated to be $4,000 per climber and will come into effect once it is passed by parliament.

Mingma Sherpa, chairperson of the Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, expressed support for the change, stating, We had been questioning the effectiveness of the deposit scheme all this time because we are not aware of anyone who was penalized for not bringing their trash down. This new non-refundable fee will create a fund dedicated to cleanup and monitoring efforts.

The new measure is part of a five-year mountain clean-up action plan aimed at addressing the pressing waste management issues on Everest. It is estimated there are tons of waste on Everest, including human excrement, which takes a significant amount of time to decompose in freezing conditions. The growing number of climbers, averaging around 400 annually, has raised growing concerns over the sustainability of mountaineering practices.