Abandoned plastic waste in a makeshift landfill 3.5km away from Everest Base Camp, in Sagarmatha Region, Nepal, in October 2024.
Photographer: Mailee Osten-Tan/Getty ImagesCleaner Tech
Mount Everest's Trash-Covered Slopes Are Being Cleaned by Drones
High-flying unmanned aircraft are being used to whisk away garbage at one of the mountaineering camps on the highest peak on Earth.
Human waste, empty oxygen cylinders, kitchen leftovers and discarded ladders.
Sherpas working on Mount Everest carry all that and more — 20 kilograms (44 pounds) per person — navigating a four-hour hike that traverses crumbling glacial ice and treacherous crevasses to bring trash back to base camp.