Numerous articles, ads, and campaigns about proper waste disposal has flooded the internet. But the problem keeps getting worse as people tend to continue their habit of littering–which leads to pollution and other environmental concerns.
Recently, China’s Mount Everest camp closed the site for local tourists because of the massive amount of trash collected from the mountain. According to Sky News, there are more than 300 tons of rubbish amassed last year.
The base camp is a small flat piece of land located at the Tibet Autonomous Region–which is located at the border between China and Nepal. The site mainly provides accommodation for hikers and tourist; so, if the problem continues to arise, mountaineers will not have a place to build tents or hang out at cafes, hotels, and shops.
With that, Chinese authorities advised that mountaineering activities shall be approved first by the regional forestry department. And to those who want to go mountain climbing, they will only be allowed once they have secured their permits. However, the department will only issue 300 permits per year to help conserve the highest mountain in the world.
People are indeed clever and inventive, but most of our bad practices are the reasons why we are now facing a plethora of environmental concerns. Everyone should know that when exploring the world, “you should take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.”
