Last week, a report on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/cleaner-air-longer-lives">Air Quality Life Index</a> (AQLI) issued by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago revealed the shocking fact that particulate pollution in the air is reducing life expectancy by up to 4 years in Kathmandu Valley and 6.5 years in the Tarai.
But more shocking than that is the lack of political will to reduce air pollution. Politicians who do not act on increasing their own life spans cannot be expected to tackle Nepal’s other development problems.
Air quality in Kathmandu this week is the healthiest it will be this year before the onset of winter when thick toxic pollution makes the air unbreathable. This is the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-pollution">biggest public health crisis of our times</a>, killing more people than smoking, alcohol, diabetes, malaria, road traffic accidents, natural disasters and other causes.&nbsp;
The main domestic polluters are well known: vehicular emissions, garbage burning and soot particles from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-the-air-in-bhaktapur-so-bad">brick kilns</a>. Trans-border pollution from India contributes to the bad air, especially along the Tarai.&nbsp;
This week the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) issued a report directly linking climate change-induced heat waves to wildfires which in turn increased air pollution risk around the world. Wildfires and crop residue burning in India have been blamed for most of the pollution between November-April in northern India and Nepal.
Dirty air has become severe enough to be a factor in the outmigration of young Nepalis who seem to be literally fleeing for their lives.
We know what the problem is, we have the solutions. What <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/polluted-politics">we do not have is the political will </a>to implement them.
Electrification of urban public transport and two-wheelers will clean the air, it will reduce Nepal’s trade deficit since petroleum makes up 23% of Nepal’s imports, higher than all exports combined. Reducing diesel use by just 10% will save the country Rs30 billion a year. This means <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/balance-of-power">investing in transmission lines on a war footing</a> to ease distribution of surplus electricity.&nbsp;
At the Nepal International EV Expo in Kathmandu last week, private sector investors, researchers and energy planners discussed how best to promote electric vehicles in Nepal. There was a resounding conclusion: focus first on the two-wheeler market.
Motorcycles and scooters make up 79% of all registered vehicles in Nepal. Kathmandu Valley alone has over 1.2 million of them. In contrast, local distributors imported only 1,500 battery-operated two-wheelers last year and better financing options would increase sales of battery-operated scooters.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-journey-to-electric-public-transport">Electric city buses</a> would not just reduce diesel imports, but also improve air quality with their zero emission and by displacing private vehicles. But battery-powered buses are 5 times more expensive and need government subsidy.
Nepal’s new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Implementation Plan has provisions to promote clean energy, including allocating 25% of the pollution tax to expand electric vehicles in Nepal.
At local levels, wards and municipalities must get to work immediately to discourage <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/no-smoke-without-fire-in-kathmandu">open burning</a> before winter sets in. Public awareness, strict punitive measures, and better solid waste management have to all go together.
Lalitpur has already taken the step to allow residents to formally file a complaint of neighbours and institutions <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-toxic-trash">burning garbage</a> via its app LMC City Police. The sub-metropolis has also set up an Environmental Police Unit with a hotline.
Likewise, Kirtipur and Chandragiri are strictly enforcing vehicle emission tests in their jurisdictions to control air pollution. Indeed, if breath analyser tests can reduce drunk-driving cases by 80% in Kathmandu, why can vehicle emission checks not be enforced? &nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/dang-turns-dung-into-energy">Ghorahi municipality in Dang has started to turn trash</a> including kitchen waste, farm residue and livestock dung into methane gas for cooking. They also reuse and recycle what they can and only a small portion is disposed of at a landfill site. This reduces LPG use and open garbage burning, improving air quality.
These local governments are leaps and bounds ahead of Kathmandu Metropolitan City where Mayor Balen Shah is more busy uploading incendiary posts on social media than fulfilling his electoral promise of reducing air pollution and garbage.&nbsp;
We cannot wait for winter to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-air-pollution-hits-record-high">set another record for the worst air quality</a>, or for Kathmandu’s hospitals to be overwhelmed by patients with pneumonia, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
Proactive action by local and federal governments can reduce air pollution. Other cities have done it, we can too. If politicians wait too long, they may not be alive to solve the problem.
Sonia Awale

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Cleaner air, longer lives

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722fd99c7e80680e0c2538jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"/>All the media attention these days is on Kathmandu Valley’s garbage crisis, and how the municipal authorities are trying to find a sustainable solution.In Nepal, <a href="https://www.adb.org/publications/solid-waste-management-nepal-current-status-and-policy-recommendations">more than half a million metric tons of waste is produced every year in the municipalities alone, much of it dumped in landfill s</a>ites. But as the road network expands, and tourism picks up again after the pandemic, garbage is increasingly becoming a problem also in the mountains.While the Everest Trail has been cleaned up with the initiative of local youth, other popular trekking trails are facing the problem of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP-vD3sJbXU&amp;t=87sLangtang National Park is a popular trekking destination because of its proximity to Kathmandu and its rich natural and cultural heritage, including endangered species such as snow leopard, red panda and musk deer.It is a valley dominated by Langtang Lirung (7,227m) and other spectacular mountains, rangelands, forests, and glacier-fed streams. In 1976, Langtang became the first national park to be designated in the mountains.The earthquake-avalanche disaster of 2015 hit tourism hard, with the region getting almost 18,000 visitors in 2019. The pandemic reduced those numbers to near zero, but trekkers are starting to return.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722fdc9c7e80680e0c2539jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1676" height="1120">With this, there is the burden of waste, and this is a growing concern in this geographically fragile and ecologically sensitive area. Some <a href="https://www.psdnepal.org/plastics">around 200,000 plastic bottles</a> are discarded in Langtang valley every year, and there may be around 5 million bottles remaining in the area from the past.There have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/plastic-money/">initiatives to buy back plastic bottles</a>, and transport them to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/virtuous-cycle/">Pokhara to be recycled</a> into, among other things, an alternative to asphalt in paving roads. But a self-sustaining solution is needed.Waste production is shaped by economic, geographic and social factors. In the case of Langtang National Park, the major contributors are tourists, international and domestic guides and porters, local communities, and seasonal internal migrants.Post pandemic, Langtang National Park has been receiving a steady flow of tourists. From July 2021 to January 2022, about <a href="https://www.tourismmail.com/more-than-10000-tourists-visit-langtang-national-park-in-five-months-of-current-fiscal-year">10,400 tourists visited Langtang National Park</a>, spending an average of 10 days in the park. There are 115 households in Langtang village and Kyangjin Gompa, and most depend on tourism-related activities such as running lodges, tea houses and portering.Only about 5% of locals are involved in agriculture and yak farming, and much of construction and portering work is done by migrants from other parts of Nepal. Together, they contribute significantly to the production of plastic bottles, glass bottles, and wrappers.Changing food practices are also changing the profile of waste in the area. Traditional dishes take longer to prepare and require more fuelwood and are being replaced with packaged foods like noodles, leading to high production of non-degradable waste.Post-earthquake reconstruction has also led to traditional houses being replaced by concrete blocks. The construction materials including cement, plastic, and steel bars are transported up on mule trains or by helicopter. Left-over packaging and construction waste litter the settlements.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722fdf9c7e80680e0c253ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="1280"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The lack of waste treatment and management facilities in remote mountain settlements means that accumulated waste ends up in valleys, pastures and waterways directly impacting on the environment, biodiversity, and livestock, and spoiling the destination itself.Glacier-fed streams and rangelands especially at the entrance to Kyangjin are littered with plastic wrappers and bottles, and these can be found all the way up to Langshisa and Yala Glaciers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722fe29c7e80680e0c253bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3708" height="2577"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Langtang has three species of wild ungulates – Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), Himalayan gHoral (Naemorhedus goral), and blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) which require salt licks for survival.Locals say that they have seen the animals licking instant noodle and biscuit wrappers for salt, sometimes swallowing the plastic. Mules, horses, yaks, and yak hybrids often get sick and sometimes die from ingesting plastic waste.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722fe79c7e80680e0c253cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1301" height="1922"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even biodegradable waste takes longer to disintegrate at these high altitudes, where the temperature can drop to -400 C in winter. Along with unplanned and improper waste disposal, this could be a much bigger problem in future.Scientists who have been coming up to Langtang Glacier to measure the impact of climate change have seen the litter problem get worse every year.  Solid waste management is a priority for the Park authorities and buffer zone committees, but much more needs to be done.A temporary landfill site has been built in Kyanjin Gompa where solid waste is collected and dumped, although it is not used very effectively.Collected waste is also carried down to Syabrubesi and from there to Kathmandu and Pokhara for proper disposal. There have also been annual awareness campaigns by the Park authorities in collaboration with the Nepal Army, buffer zone committees, and local people.<a href="https://psdnepal.org/">Partnership for Sustainable Development (PSD) Nepal,</a> a non-profit, is promoting the principles of a circular economy to manage plastic waste in partnership with local communities, Langtang National Park, and the District Administration Office. This pilot project collects about 10,000 plastic bottles for recycling every month.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722feb9c7e80680e0c253djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3175" height="2381"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But a much more holistic and multi-level approach is required, including the declaration and enforcement of Langtang National Park as a plastic free region. This can be supported by systematic garbage collection and disposal, including construction of a treatment facility.Equally important is awareness and behavioural change as has happened in Sagarmatha National Park. This can help conserve the pristine mountain environment, reduce the risk to biodiversity and ecosystems, and continue to support the local livelihoods that are so dependent on nature-based tourism.Finu Shrestha is a Remote Sensing and Geo-information Analyst at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) with more than a decade of experience working in cryosphere research. Sunita Chaudhary is an Ecosystem Services Specialist at ICIMOD with nearly 10 years of experience in natural resources management in Australia, Austria, Cambodia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/refuse-recycle-reuse-repurpose-plastic/">Refuse, recycle, reuse, repurpose plastic</a>, Aria Shree Parasai

Cleaning up high places

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18c69c7e80680e0ac7e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Although the undernutrition<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/food-for-thought-for-nepals-nutrition-planners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> </a>rate in Nepal has dropped dramatically in the past two decades, a quarter of its children still go to bed hungry every night.
Yet, food waste makes up 66% of garbage in Kathmandu. The gap between poverty and plenty is even more glaring during Dasain, when bingeing on masu-bhat is the norm.
This week’s <a href="https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Hunger Index 2021</a> by the UN’s <a href="https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/resources/detail/en/c/1378978/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Food and Agriculture Organisation</a> (FAO) ranks Nepal 76th among 116 countries – better than India (101) and Pakistan (92). However, that is no comfort for thousands of Nepali families who are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-epidemic-of-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">struggling to feed themselves</a> due to income loss caused by the pandemic.
On the other hand, with rising living standards, Nepalis are also over-splurging, leading to an increase in food waste. Much of this is processed and packaged food, which adds to the plastic in urban garbage.
The problem has gotten so bad that cooking oil brand Siddha Baba took it upon itself to communicate the seriousness of food waste in Nepal ahead of the festival via tv and social advertorials with comedy duo Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansa Acharya.
<a href="https://dokorecyclers.com" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Doko Recyclers</a> that manages and upcycles dry waste in Kathmandu, has seen a significant increase in consumption and wastage during the festival season. 
To be sure, the problem of food waste in Nepal is not specific to festival time. Nearly 4.6 million people are categorised as ‘food insecure’ in Nepal, and 40% of children under five are stunted. Childhood malnutrition has been made worse by pandemic-induced economic fallout.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-affecting-food-security-in-nepal-wfp/">The pandemic</a> has also disrupted the market with tons of vegetables and fruits left to rot without proper transport during the lockdowns. Which is why despite a favourable monsoon this year, many were discouraged from planting maize and paddy, fearing more wastage.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ipcc-report-and-nepals-food-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IPCC report and Nepal’s food security</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-pandemic-of-hunger/">The pandemic of hunger</a>, Medha GelliIn a recent panel examining the food crisis in Nepal, environmental scientist Uttam Babu Shrestha said that up to 40% of vegetables are wasted daily during their transport and handling.“Although there is plenty of anecdotal evidence pointing to a large degree of food waste in transit and households, there has been no comprehensive study done in Nepal examining food waste post-harvest,” added Shrestha.A study in January of 2014 surveyed wholesalers and retailers to determine the primary cause of food waste in shops. Many of the respondents said it was because they did not have refrigeration facilities to extend the shelf life of farm produce. Others said poor handling and packaging contributed to food waste.Food is generally to be packed in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-covid-19-plastic-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">polythene bags</a> which are significantly cheaper than crates, the expensive alternative that is the industry standard for protecting produce. The use of polythene bags, paired with tightly packed produce with minimal airflow in a vehicle on uneven roads, leads to a significant waste of produce even before it reaches market.Food waste at home can easily be minimised, but the extent of the problem is much larger in hotels and restaurants. Nabin Bikash Maharjan of the company <a href="https://bw2v.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blue Waste to Value</a> has been working with clients like Hotel Yak and Yeti and Hyatt Regency and has seen first-hand the amount of food waste establishments like that generate.“Before the pandemic, we used to get some 1.5 tons of waste from one single 5-star hotel in a day, 60% of which would be food. In large part, this waste is from banquets and events they host,” says Maharjan.Blue Waste to Value turns the food waste into animal feed, and the rest for organic composting. Most larger hotels and restaurants in Kathmandu now have similar tie-ups with pig farms.Actually, an average Nepali household produces much less food waste. Blue Waste to Value found that only about 20% of the waste generated in private homes is food. Even so, a study by the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre (SWMTSC) estimated that in Nepal, 65% of household waste is organic which means it can be turned into compost instead of being dumped in landfill sites.Food waste is adding to Kathmandu’s growing problem of solid waste management. The capital's only landfill in Nuwakot’s Sisdole has already reached <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-load-of-rubbish/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">its maximum capacity</a>, and every monsoon the rains damage the access road to the site obstructing the movement of garbage trucks.Some 1,000 tons of solid waste is dumped at Sisdole every day, 60% of which is organic. Almost all of the waste remains unsegregated and adds to the pollution, further worsening the health of the people.Says Pankaj Panjiyar of Doko: “Food waste at home can be largely reduced if all of us practice in-house waste segregation and composting, this in time will help with our overflowing landfill.”

Nepal’s glaring food gap

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d011b9c7e80680e0a3611jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The good people of Okharpauwa in Nuwakot finally signed a ceasefire agreement with the litterbugs of Kathmandu last week to not refuse our refuse anymore. So, just as we had started getting used to living with garbage, here we are having to adjust to clean sidewalks all over again.Pity, because rubbish heaps had become such an important part of everyday life that it had become a vibrant symbol of our nascent federal democratic republic, an emblem of our hard-won freedoms. So let no nation (especially neighbouring countries currently trying to move our border pillars) underestimate our resolve to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to safeguard our right to litter wherever we want within Nepal's sovereign territory.The rotting rubbish was proof that we are well on our way to attaining Middle Income Status by 2025. The fact that we can throw away so much stuff means we have much more where it came from, which in turn shows that Nepal’s GDP is relentlessly rising.The garbage dumps had also become important repositories of endangered species of plant, animal and fungal life. These biodiversity reserves were the last remaining refuge for the Greater Urban Holy Cow (Bos nipalensis) whose alimentary tracts evolved to allow them to digest styrofoam. By moving the rubbish we have removed the last habitat for endangered species, and their disappearance will be a loss not just to Nepal, but for the planet at large.The absence of the friendly neighbourhood garbage piles also means that we have lost vital navigation waypoints that had replaced Google maps to help people find their way around in a city without street names and house numbers.We can no longer give visitors directions on how to get to the Nepali Times office by telling them to take Tootle to Pulchok, and follow the smell of the decaying trash at the intersection, turn left after 50m, and we are the brick building above the momo shop. If you see another, bigger garbage pyramid blocking the road, then you have gone too far.We now know that no two biodegradable garbage heaps smell the same. The one on our street has the bouquet of rotting water buffalo viscera combined with the aroma of fish scales in an advanced stage of fermentation, recalling the sophisticated odour halfway between mature gorgonzola and a freshly-cut wet toenail.However, the Ass had noticed that the garbage mound at the gateway to Thamel has an even stronger olfactory quotient, clocking 8.5 magnitude on the open-ended Richter scale that can knock over innocent bystanders within a radius of 20m from the epicentre.The Hotel Association has belatedly realised the tourism potential of charging an entry fee to drop by at Kathmandu’s garbage piles, which have become such popular selfie-spots for foreign visitors. It is upon us to restore the rubbish, and preserve this important part of the city’s cultural heritage.

The Ass

Garbage in, garbage out

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00ce9c7e80680e0a35f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Kathmandu Valley's only landfill site Sisdole has reached its maximum capacity. All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s capital stank for more than a fortnight before Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) decided to resume garbage collection this week with the Department of Roads agreeing to repair the route to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-load-of-rubbish-kathmandus-garbage-problem,4039" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Sisdole landfill site</a>, 30km away.Kathmandu’s only landfill Sisdole has already reached its maximum capacity, and every monsoon the rains damage the access road to the site with the locals having to navigate in knee-deep sludge. The overpowering stench from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/industrial-scale-litter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heaps of garbage</a> is enough to make residents sick.“Our water sources have been contaminated and farms are infertile. The road leading up to here is in a sorry state and yet the concerned people pay no heed,” says Bimala Balami of Sisdole.“From sunrise to sunset that mountain of garbage is all we see, we inhale the bad smell more than we do oxygen,” she adds.This is echoed by her neighbour Sangita Balami: “The odour from the garbage dumped here is there all hours of every day, there is no respite, people are getting sick.”The residents started a protest when a 70-year-old woman died on 22 August, attributed to a possible <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-in-the-time-of-cholera/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cholera outbreak</a>. The local authorities brokered a deal with an agitating group obstructing the movement of vehicles with a 14-point agreement on Wednesday when the cholera suspicion was proven to be unfounded.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00d29c7e80680e0a35fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00d59c7e80680e0a35fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00d99c7e80680e0a35fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00dc9c7e80680e0a35fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The garbage trucks and containers are now on the move, but it will still take a week for the municipality to manage to lift litter off the streets. Some 15,000 tonnes of waste have been piled up in different parts of Kathmandu Valley because of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/recycle-reuse-reduce-garbage-kathmandu,1279" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lack of proper solid waste disposal</a> in the past two weeks.Stretched over 38 hectares, the Sisdole landfill is located on a gorge that is now not just full, but has grown into an enormous mountain of garbage. When it was first turned into a landfill site in 2006, the KMC proposed to use it only for three years but 17 years later, 75% of about 1,200 tonnes of daily <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-covid-19-plastic-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">waste generated in Kathmandu Valley</a> ends up here in Nuwakot.Under normal circumstances, up to 200 vehicles dump the waste in Sisdole daily, which is later pushed around the site by an excavator at a height of about 200 meters.“Back then the government had acquired our land for the site, we were promised jobs,” says Bimala Balami. “But they were distributed unfairly. Some people here receive annual grants from the government but others don’t even get a penny.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00e09c7e80680e0a35fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00e39c7e80680e0a35ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00e79c7e80680e0a3600jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00ea9c7e80680e0a3601jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Rapid and unplanned growth coupled with poor municipal management has meant that <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Kathmandu-waste-management-problem-solution,1416" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu has always had a garbage problem</a>. Kathmandu needs another landfill site and the proposed alternative Banchare Dada, 1.9km west of Sisdole, has been under construction for years.The Ministry of Urban Development had signed a contract with Lumbini Koshi and Neupane JV in April 2019 to complete the work at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-will-nepal-do-with-its-e-waste/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Banchare Dada</a> within a year. The project will cost at least Rs346.8 million with the 91 hectare site estimated to be usable for 25 years. But more than two years later, the new landfill has no completion date in sight.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00ed9c7e80680e0a3602jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00f09c7e80680e0a3603jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141144/636d00f49c7e80680e0a3604jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Exactly 50 years ago in 1971, the first international consultant on solid waste management had studied Kathmandu's waste management system and proposed a landfill site.In 1996, after a 15-years-long effort by the Germans to set up a waste management system in Kathmandu, a German fact-finding mission concluded that the problems relating to municipal waste management in Kathmandu are not technical in nature, and the <a href="http://www.martinchautari.org.np/files/SINHAS-Articles/SINHAS-Vol.1-No.2_Bhushan-Tuladhar.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">constraints to developing environmentally sound, cost-effective and sustainable solutions</a> are institutional, organisational and financial.Studies have shown that segregating waste would cut the volume of trash by half, since up to 70% of the daily collection is biodegradable. We know what the problem is, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/making-money-from-garbage-in-kathmandu,2055" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we know what the solutions are</a>, but there is little political will to follow through.There has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepali-entrepreneur-turns-trash-into-cash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interest from the private sector</a> to recycle the organic waste, plastic, metal and glass, and install an incineration plant to generate electricity from the rest, but the project got stuck in the bureaucracy with reports that officials demanded kickbacks.Says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar: “Kathmandu’s solid waste mismanagement is once again making headlines as it does every monsoon. Unfortunately, the main obstacles to a solution have remained the same for the past five decades.”

A load of rubbish

Managing Everest’s waste problem

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101120/636b70ea9c7e80680e0600a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000"/>One of the best and nearest hiking trails from Kathmandu is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-walk-back-in-time-chandragiri-hatiban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Champadevi-Chandragiri walk</a> – it offers a splendid view of the Himalaya as well as the city sprawled below.But as the path through thick forests teeming with wildlife turns into an ever popular attraction for town-bound Nepalis seeking solace in nature the area is marred by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/industrial-scale-litter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plastic trash</a>.Now, a community effort led by the <a href="https://miraraiinitiative.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mira Rai Initiative (MRI)</a> has started a clean-up and awareness campaign of the trail, and hopes to set an example for locals here and other nature walks in Nepal.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mira-rai-racing-to-help-other-runners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mira Rai racing to help other runners</a>, Duksangh Sherpa<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101120/636b70ed9c7e80680e0600a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Started by international champion <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/mira-rai-trail-running,1776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali trail runner Mira Rai</a>, the Initiative last month mobilised 65 volunteers who hiked through the forest path picking up litter and placed 30 doko and 20 signs.MRI worked with Dakshinkali Municipality and local garbage recyclers to ensure regular collection and disposal of the trash from the doko bins. Altogether, the volunteers collected 80 bags of glass, paper, papers from food wrappers, beverages, and straws.The Initiative promotes trails and trail running in Nepal while empowering the female trail runners across the country. Rai has said she wants to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mira-rai-racing-to-help-other-runners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">give young Nepali women the same opportunity she had</a> to become world-renowned racers.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101120/636b70f29c7e80680e0600a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000">Nepal has some of the most exquisite natural and geographical features, and holds enormous possibilities and potential for trail-running which is yet to be realized to a fuller extent.Because of the trail’s natural scenery, accessibility, and proximity from the city, it is gaining popularity amongst both tourists and locals. There has been a rapid growth in the number of visitors, hikers and picknickers which means it also suffers from rubbish, plastic and other waste throughout the trail.The pollution has also negatively affected the beauty and appeal of the trail which could subsequently result in a decline in the number of visitors. The reason behind this is a lack of awareness, and inadequate instructions in school and family against littering.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101120/636b70f69c7e80680e0600a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="1440">In the absence of bins and containers for waste collection, people tend to dispose and throw the waste on the trail itself. This is why MRI focusses on awareness, and help preserve and maintain the upkeep of the trail.The cleanliness of the trail would also motivate more runners to train in this trail, and enjoy the enormous possibility ahead of them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZ4DIyzIn8&amp;feature=youtu.be“If we can create a wonderful playground for enthusiasts, we can help create more Mira Rais, who can be torchbearers of our nation on the international stage,” says <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/mira-rai-trail-running-nepa,2014" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mira Rai</a>, who has taken part in 20 international ultra-marathons to date, setting a new world record on the Mont Blanc 80km race. The former Maoist was also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/celebrating-the-himalayan-outdoors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year</a> in 2017.She adds: “By undertaking such community efforts aids in the promotion of tourism and the ongoing national campaign for Visit Nepal 2020.”<h2>The Champadevi Trail</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101120/636b70fa9c7e80680e0600a7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="2000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Located along the southern rim of Kathmandu valley, Champaddevi is the third highest ridge with an average elevation of 2,300m. It is named after the forest protector goddess, Champadevi, whose shrine is on the summit.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-walk-back-in-time-chandragiri-hatiban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A walk back in time: Chandragiri-Hatiban</a>Apart from its natural appeal, the peak holds significant religious value. In recent years, the trail’s popularity as a destination for day hiked, trail running, cycling, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.The hike to Champadevi goes uphill through planted pine forest towards new growth oak, rhododendron and uttis community forests. The summit can be gained from Dhandragiri, from Hattiban, or through direct climbs from Kirtipur via Deurali and Machhegaun.The ridge offers unparalleled views from Annapurna to Numbur with Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Dorje Lakpa being the nearest ranges. Far in the distance, even Mt Everest is visible if the weather is clear.

Nepali ultra-marathoner’s anti-litter drive

<figure><img width="1465" height="986" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70999c7e80680e060087jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>HONORED: Bipana Bastola, a Grade 10 student receives the Zayed Sustainability Award on behalf of her Bloom Nepal School from UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The school was among six from around the world that proposed sustainable energy solutions. Photo: Zayed Sustainability Prize</figcaption></figure>Schoolmates who studied at Budanilkantha boarding school in Kathmandu went on for higher studies abroad, some to MIT and Harvard, others to New York University, and another to an Indian college. They kept in touch, and often talked about what they could do to give back to Nepal. They decided that since it was the opportunity they got from scholarships at a top quality education in a premier government-run school, they would help set up a chain of similar schools that would inspire youngsters. The first <a href="https://bloomn.edu.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloom Nepal School</a> was set up in Kathmandu with 17 students, but the earthquake struck and brought down its building, killing a security guard. It had to be restarted from scratch, and the school rose from the rubble to establish two campuses in Kathmandu and Itahari that today have 600 students, and aspires to be the largest network of schools in Nepal. <figure><img width="1000" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b709b9c7e80680e060088jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“People in the rural areas of Nepal are as capable as everyone else even if they are poor, they just need the opportunity to get a quality education like I did,” says Ram Rijal who graduated in 2012 from MIT, taught mathematics in his school in Kathmandu, and is now working on a PhD. “We want this school to provide a similar opportunity to other underprivileged Nepali children.”Indeed, what the former schoolmates have started is a project that will try to upscale the Budanilkantha model into a network of affordable schools providing world class education to Nepalis would never be able to afford it, so that they can go to the best universities in the world and ultimately return to Nepal like its founders did.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3zxuaIjTq0Bloom School’s first new facility is located in Lubhu, has grades 1-10 with 30 students in each class. Some one-third of the students are on scholarship paid for by sponsors and the school’s own budget. The plan is to have a Bloom residential school in each of the seven provinces, so that students can rotate between the schools every semester, seeing and learning from different parts of the country.“I was inspired by the teachers at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus where I did my undergraduate engineering degree,” says Chandan Mishra, one of the trio. “It was a campus that gave students maximum exposure, broadened their horizons and made them capable of facing any challenge.” <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b709e9c7e80680e060089jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Bloom School received a $100,000 <a href="https://gulfnews.com/uae/environment/six-global-schools-among-10-winners-of-zayed-sustainability-prize-1.68980516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zayed Sustainability Award</a> this week in Abu Dhabi for a project to make energy self-sufficient campuses. In its citation, the Emirate award recognised the school’s proposal to ‘use a food-energy-waste nexus framework through the installation of biogas units that convert up to one tonne of organic waste into biogas and organic manure every day’. The biogas can then be used for cooking in the school’s canteen, generate electricity using a gas engine, while the organic manure produced can be used in sustainable agriculture. “I have been with the school from the beginning, and really enjoy it. It is very diverse, very friendly, everyone is like family. It is like a home for learning,” says Bipana Bastola, 14, who received the award on Behalf of her school. Bloom Nepal was among six winners this year for schools with sustainable energy projects who received the prizes from UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. <figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70a19c7e80680e06008ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The school further plans on forming a partnership with local municipalities to recycle municipal solid waste and convert it into clean energy, thereby promoting effective waste management, recycling, and clean energy generation, with the effective participation of students and the wider community. Mishra, who graduated with an engineering degree from NYU and turned out lucrative job offers in Dubai to return to Nepal to run the school says: “The award is a huge honour, and we will plough the prize money into our biogas energy program.”Bloom Schools have a strong environmental component, and students learn about reducing use of plastics, recycling garbage, and the biogas plant will be a part of the learning experience about climate friendly energy source that will cut Nepal’s import bill as well. <figure><img width="1500" height="806" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70a49c7e80680e06008bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Rijal and Mishra say they saw the benefits of residential education while at Budanilkantha, where students spent time after class learning to do activities together, and growing up to be “independent and interdependent". As an engineer, Mishra has tried to design the schools from lightweight earthquake resistant material, and wants to use rammed earth technology for future buildings. He adds: “Bloom Nepal will serve as a model for affordable high quality schools in Nepal so it can retain talent in the country and build a human resource base for the country’s future.”

Kunda Dixit

Giving back to Nepal what Nepal gave to them

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61959c7e80680e056edejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="1600"/><figcaption>Mule and mani wall. Photos: ALTON C BYERS</figcaption></figure>The Sherpas reportedly have a saying that “there’s only one Everest,” meaning that because Everest is the highest mountain in the world it will always be the preferred destination of trekkers, climbers, and extremely wealthy middle aged men. Visitor numbers support this claim -- over 60,000 foreign tourists (not counting support staff) will come to Sagarmatha National Park this year.Along with the economic benefits there are also downsides such as overcrowded trails, bottlenecks at check posts and bridge crossings, and the feeling of being in a perpetual traffic jam. Every day during the peak season, 500 tourists arrive in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/capital-of-sherpaland-gets-a-makeover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Namche Bazar</a> from the south, and 500 from trails east and north.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everest-fights-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Everest fights back</a>, Alton C Byers <figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61989c7e80680e056edfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2700" height="788"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The vast majority of these tourists are cordial and having a wonderful time. What is not good about the trekking experience in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Khumbu</a> and on dozens of other popular trekking trails in Nepal these days is the presence of mule trains carrying supplies from Kharikhola (2,500 m) south of Lukla to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m).Mules were introduced to the Khumbu about 10 years ago in response to the growing number of tourists, and the demand for food and other supplies. Today, there are about 500 mules are based in Kharikhola carrying supplies up from the roadhead.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a619b9c7e80680e056ee0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a619d9c7e80680e056ee1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>They have largely replaced the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-garbage-caravan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">use of dzopkio</a> (yak-cattle cross breeds) for the Lukla to Namche supply run, although dzopkio and yak continue to be used from Namche onward to the higher altitudes. On a recent walk from Phakding to Lukla there well over 100 mules in trains averaging about 15 animals each.The locals hate them because mules destroy the trails with their sharp hooves, and leave behind so much poop that one seemingly spends more time playing hop scotch than trekking. Worse, they seem to think they have a right of way on the trails. Dzopko and yak always seem to go out of their way to avoid making any kind of contact with humans. But not mules.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61a09c7e80680e056ee2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2700" height="664"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There has been talk of building a ropeway from Lukla to Namche capable of delivering the food and other supplies needed for the large and growing tourist trade. Especially if placed beyond the sight of the main trekking trail, a ropeway would provide a more environmentally friendly way of delivering goods. It would also provide a means for transporting <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/everest-fights-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pre-processed solid waste</a>, such as shredded plastic water bottles, compacted and baled aluminum beer cans, and other materials from Namche to Lukla where it could then be transferred to Kathmandu for recycling.The proposal to build the ropeway is being held up by the central government in Kathmandu for reasons that are not entirely clear, but it certainly has the support of the majority of the people here. Meanwhile construction of a motorable road to Chaurikharka, just below Lukla, continues, largely in response to the large number of flight cancellations in Lukla due to weather. Typically, hundreds of tourists have been stuck in Lukla for up to two weeks, and a road would be an alternative access route. Expect the numbers of tourists visiting the Khumbu annually to go keep growing as a result.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61a39c7e80680e056ee3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61a69c7e80680e056ee4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61a99c7e80680e056ee5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61ac9c7e80680e056ee6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Photos: SONIA AWALEBut at least the traditional trail from Lukla to Namche and beyond will remain in its present condition for future generations of mountain lovers to enjoy. This is good news at a time when Nepal continues to relentless destroy its system of once-world class trekking trails through the construction of poorly-planned and often unnecessary roads, such as <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/annapurna-base-camp,3697" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Annapurna circuit</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/new-high-way-to-dolpo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dolpo</a>, Manaslu, and much of the Kangchenjunga treks.Unplanned road construction has overall negative environmental, economic, and social impact. But that is another story. Let us find an alternative to mules first.Alton C. Byers, PhD, is Senior Research Associate and Faculty Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder.

Too many mules on the Everest trail

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJPUVWW9U4&amp;feature=youtu.beMt Everest has been called the ‘The World’s Highest Garbage Dump’ or ‘The Toilet Paper Trail’, but the international media has missed the good news: that Sagarmatha National Park is cleanest it has been since tourism started in the 1960s. And it is about to become even more garbage free as every visitor will be asked to volunteer to take down 1kg of trash back for collection by recyclers at Kathmandu airport.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58379c7e80680e05481fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="938" height="1005"/>Photo: TOMMY GUSTAFSSON<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a583a9c7e80680e054820jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1191" height="1257">Photo: ALTON C BYERSA ‘Carry Me Back’ bag that will contain 1kg of pre-processed solid waste that tourists will carry back to recycling facilities in Kathmandu.The spring 2019 climbing season saw another surge of international media coverage with daily stories of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/">‘traffic jams’</a>, newly exposed garbage, bodies and helicopter parts that surfaced as the mountain thawed due to climate change.Some 400 tons of plastic, metals, glass and other refuse is generated each year by lodges catering to the tourist industry, the bulk of it burned and buried in some 75 community landfills located near villages along the Everest Trail. Burnable garbage includes plastics that poison the air, contaminate the water, and create new health hazards for humans and livestock alike.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living below Nepal's melting mountains,</a> Alton C Byers<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/high-water" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High Water,</a> Alton C Byers in the Barun Valley<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a583c9c7e80680e054821jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1016" height="762"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a583f9c7e80680e054822jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1016" height="762">Typical garbage pit outside of a village, usually out of sight of the main trekking trail. Landfills are particularly problematic in the alpine zone above 4,000m, where decomposition processes are much slower than those at lower, warmer and more humid environments. Photos: ALTON C BYERS<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58419c7e80680e054823jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1218" height="1642"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It hasn’t always been this way. When I first visited the <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/">Khumbu in 1973</a>, there were no lodges, the total number of tourists per year was under 2,000 and virtually no solid waste was produced. Food came in reusable packaging (doko baskets, cloth bags) and meals consisted of rice, lentils, potatoes and some vegetables.By the 1980s and 1990s a few lodges started being built, and trekking groups camped in village potato fields rented out by landowners. By the early 2000s the rush to build lodges to feed and shelter the growing numbers of tourists took off, transforming the cultural landscape. With lodges came both greater tourist numbers as well as an increased demand for consumables like beer, whiskey, wine, bottled water, fruit cocktail, sunscreen, TVs and batteries, with their non-biodegradable packaging. It all ended up in refuse pits to be routinely burned.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58449c7e80680e054824jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="328"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58469c7e80680e054825jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="328"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Going by the international press narrative, the problem is bad and getting worse. Are the Sherpa people, Sagarmatha National Park and government doing nothing about it? <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-garbage-caravan/">Far from it.</a> More than 20 years ago, the <a href="http://www.spcc.org.np">Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) </a>was launched as a local initiative to manage waste. Since then, the SPCC and its partners have installed 106 waste collection centres throughout the park, banned glass beer bottles, organised <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/expeditions-brings-down-11-tons-of-mt-everest-trash/">annual Base Camp clean ups</a>, conducted compost trainings, and continually look for new and innovative solutions to the challenges of managing the waste generated. Not much of this is reported by the international media.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58489c7e80680e054826jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="961" height="647"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>During two solid-waste workshops facilitated by the University of Colorado and Arizona State University in Namche Bazaar and Kathmandu last month, local stakeholders were looking for innovative new ways to manage the waste of 60,000 trekkers and climbers, plus their support staff, who are in the park every year. The SPCC is now working with <a href="https://sagarmathanext.com/about-us/">Sagarmatha Next</a>, which is setting up segregation stations for a ‘carry me back’ program, where every tourist agrees to take back 1kg of waste to recycling centres in Kathmandu.The trek from Lukla to Everest Base Camp has long been referred to as the ‘toilet paper trail’ -- today it is anything but. In spite of the growing numbers of visitors, support staff and pack animals, it is one of the cleanest and most beautiful treks in the high mountain world.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a584a9c7e80680e054827jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="475"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Of course, a lot more needs to be done. Participants at the Namche and Kathmandu workshops stressed the need for innovation to deal with solid waste in a location-specific way, while being sensitive to local culture and values. The first step is establishment of waste separation centres, pre-processing facilities (shredding, compacting, baling) and finding way to transport the material to recycling centres in Kathmandu and elsewhere. Some of the aluminium and plastic waste is already being turned into ‘Everest Art’ to be sold for fund-raising. Aluminium cans are also converted into utilitarian objects like frying pans and other utensils. Human waste can be addressed through new solar technology, and more efficient septic tanks can prevent leakage.As a first step, Colorado and Arizona will be working with the local government ahead of the autumn trekking season to follow up the recommendations of the workshops. A landfill-free and waste-free Sagarmatha National Park, where garbage is not burnt, can be a reality in a few years. It could provide a much needed model for other mountain areas where the problems of tourist-related solid and human waste management exist.The difference is, things get done in the Khumbu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a584c9c7e80680e054828jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="475"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a584e9c7e80680e054829jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="240" height="320"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a584f9c7e80680e05482ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="960">Photo: TOMMY GUSTAFSSON<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141120/636a58529c7e80680e05482bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="960">Photo: ALTON C BYERSSagarmatha Next's Interpretation Centre in Syangboche.Alton C Byers, PhD, is a mountain geographer, conservationist and mountaineer specialising in applied research, high altitude ecosystems, climate change and glacier hazards. Field work for this project was supported by a grant from the National Geographic Society.