Himalayan museum turns Everest trash into art

The Sagarmatha Next Center in Syangboche, Nepal, is converting waste from Mount Everest into art to generate income and employment. The initiative, organized by the Museum of the Himalayas and the Sustainable Park, aims to change perceptions of garbage and manage it sustainably. Artists, both foreign and local, will create artworks from discarded materials, while locals are trained to transform waste into resources. The center, located on the main trail to Everest base camp, will display or sell these works as souvenirs, with proceeds funding regional conservation. A second phase will ask climbers to carry small bags of trash to Lukla airport, where the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee will sort and transport it to Kathmandu. In 2019, a month-long cleanup removed 10,000 kg of garbage from Everest, including oxygen cylinders, torn equipment, bottles, food containers, batteries, and human waste. Microplastics have been found in snow samples from eleven altitude areas, and three of eight water samples were contaminated, according to a report in One Earth. Project director Tommy Gustafsson stated, 'We want to show how to transform solid waste into precious works of art that can generate employment and income.' The center is opening gradually to avoid crowding during the pandemic.