See How Nepal Has Turned Everest's Trash Into Works Of Art

Illustration - mountain of trash (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Garbage collected on Mount Everest will be turned into works of art and exhibited at a nearby gallery, an effort to highlight the need to save the world's highest mountain from turning into a garbage dump.

Reported by Antara, Thursday, January 21, used oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, damaged stairs, cans and plastic wrappers discarded by climbers and trekkers littered the 8,848.86 meter peak and its surroundings.

Tommy Gustafsson, project director and co-founder of Sagarmatha Next Center - a visitor information center and waste utilization facility - said foreign and local artists would be involved in creating artwork from waste as well as training local residents to turn waste into valuables.

"We want to show how you can turn solid waste into valuable works of art ... and generate jobs and income," Gustafsson told Reuters.

"We hope to change people's perceptions about waste and its management," he said.

The center is located at an altitude of 3,780 meters in Syangboche on the main route to the base camp Everest, a two day walk from Lukla, the gateway to the mountain.

The "soft opening" will take place in the spring for local residents as the number of visitors this year is limited due to the restrictions on the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

It is hoped that the products and works of art on display can increase environmental awareness, or are sold as souvenirs whose results are used for area preservation.

Garbage brought down from the mountains, or collected from households along the trail is collected and separated by the local environmental group, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, but working on that task in remote areas with no roads is a huge challenge.

Garbage is thrown away or burned in open holes, causing air, water and soil pollution.

Phinjo Sherpa of the Eco Himal group involved in the project said, through the "bring me back" initiative every returning tourist and guide will be asked to take a bag containing one kilogram of trash back to Lukla airport, where it will be transported to Kathmandu.

In 2019, more than 60,000 climbers and guides visited the area.

"We can manage large amounts of waste if visitors are involved," said Sherpa.