](https://www.cntraveller.in/theme/earth-matters/)Empty oxygen cylinders, plastic bottles, cans, batteries, food wrappings, faecal matter and kitchen waste are not what one would normally associate with the highest peak on the planet. And yet, in a recently-concluded two-month-long cleanliness drive by the Nepal government, a total of 11,000 kg of garbage and four dead bodies were cleared off from Mount Everest.
Every year, nearly hundreds of mountaineers, high-altitude porters and Sherpas attempt to scale Mount Everest. With a small window of good weather, peak season on the mountain leads to traffic jams right up to the peak. The overcrowding on the mountain has resulted in tonnes of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste that could severely harm the mountain's fragile ecosystem. 20 sherpa climbers reportedly collected five tonnes of garbage from various campsites above Everest Base Camp and six tonnes from sites below. But the ecosystem isn't the only thing at risk. At an altitude of more than 8,800m, these traffic jams are turning fatal. Two weeks ago, 10 people lost their lives when as many as 320 climbers lined up to climb the mountain.
Across the globe, from Peru's Machu Picchu to Thailand's Maya Bay, governments are responding to the perils of overcrowding and its detrimental effects on the environment. While authorities in Nepal have stated that they are looking at implementing stricter laws for climbers, onground implementation could take a while.