US EditionNepal Ends Failed Everest Waste Deposit Scheme After 11 Years
Nepal ends the $4,000 refundable deposit scheme after 11 years and implements a non-refundable fee with a five-year Everest cleanup plan to tackle 50 tonnes of accumulated waste.
- Last week, Nepalese authorities in Kathmandu shelved the 11-year-old deposit scheme requiring climbers to return 8kg of waste or forfeit $4,000 as the five-year Everest Cleaning Action Plan took effect.
- After 11 years, critics pointed to loopholes including climbers returning only oxygen bottles while leaving waste higher up and enforcement limited to the Khumbu Icefall, Mr Sherpa said.
- The plan proposes converting the refundable deposit into a non-refundable fee to fund a permanent mountain welfare fund, establishes a garbage collection point at Camp II , and mandates expedition inventories plus Mountain Rangers to monitor waste.
- Under revised regulations effective from September 1, 2025, the spring-season royalty for foreign climbers using the south route rises to $15,000, with funds earmarked for clean-up and a Base Camp relocation study.
- Melting ice is now exposing decades-old debris and human excrement, with officials estimating 50 tonnes of waste remain, while the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee cleared 85 tonnes in 2024 and the Nepali Army removed 11 tonnes.
25 Articles
25 Articles
The highest mountain in the world continues to be filled with garbage left by hundreds of mountaineers every year
Nepal ends Everest waste deposit scheme, to deploy drones under five-year clean-up plan
Authorities also plan to set up waste collection and sorting points at base camps and higher camps, strengthen monitoring during peak climbing seasons, and deploy specialised high-altitude clean-up teams. Annual clean-up drives will target legacy waste and human remains left behind from decades of expeditions, moving away from ad-hoc campaigns to a permanent, system-based approach to keeping Everest and other Himalayan peaks clean.
Nepal has clipped its Everest was deposited scheme after 11 years, admitting it failed to curb garbage. A new non-refutable clean-up fee is planned.
Nepalese authorities have decided to abolish a deposit system that encouraged climbers to bring their own waste from Mount Everest.
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