Our Work
Climbers on Mount Everest take away life-changing memories, remarkable images, and adventurous friends from every corner of Earth. They also leave behind human waste, which currently has no sustainable method of disposal, due to the harsh climate in this remote area. The highest mountain in the world, locally called Sagarmatha, is sacred to the native communities who rely on the mountain's resources to sustain their lives and livelihoods. In recent climbing seasons, more than 60,000 pounds (over 27,000 Kg) of untreated human waste is accumulated yearly from climbers and their support members at Mount Everest Base Camp. This unavoidable consequence of the climbing industry has a massive impact on the environment of Mount Everest and the water resources that sustain the native population and their guests.
Action is required to implement a long-term solution to sustainably treat the increasing burden of human waste left behind in this majestic mountain environment. Working with the local communities and caretakers of the Sagarmatha National Park, our project is creating a solution that can be built, operated, and maintained in this harsh environment at the top of the world.
Launched in 2010, Mount Everest Biogas Project has conceived, designed, and tested an innovative solution, to bring a wide range of environmental and economic benefits to this mountian's local communities:
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Eliminate annual dumping of 60,000 lbs (over 27,000 Kg) of solid human waste near the teahouse village of Gorak Shep.
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Mitigate the risk of contaminating local water with fecal coliform bacteria.
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Provide a carbon neutral alternative to burning wood or yak dung for heating and the resultant health risks
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Reduce pressure on limited wood resources in the local Khumbu valley
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Create local jobs during the construction and operations of the project
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Convert waste into a renewable natural gas fuel (methane rich biogas) that will be made available to the local community for cooking and lighting
The Problem
Mount Everest serves as the ultimate challenge and lifelong goal for hundreds of expedition climbers each year. With decades of continued use and exploration, Everest Base Camp and the upper camps have become scarred by human impact. In recent years, the human waste dumped in Gorak Shep has expanded to more than 60,000 pounds (over 27,000 Kg) annually, causing environmental degradation and posing severe risks to clean water sources.
High altitude and extremely cold temperatures in the areas local to Everest Base Camp effectively stall natural decomposition processes. The result is decades' worth of harmful fecal matter left behind by visitors, with more accumulating every year, as expeditions to the peaks of the Mount Everest region expand.
To support the irreplaceable natural environment of this national park and to protect the water resources of the Sherpa people and this mountainous watershed ecosystem, a sustainable and reliable solution is required immediately.
Our Solution
Working with an international team of anaerobic biogas digester experts including, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, Biogas Sector Partnership Nepal, and local contractors; the Mount Everest Biogas Project is developing a modular design, using locally available and proven technologies, combined in a novel configuration for a local solution to treat this unresolved human waste problem. By leveraging local knowledge and support this solution will be sustainable without continuous external funding or labor. Ultimately the design of this project will be adaptable for use in other high-altitude cold environments struggling with the same human waste issue around the world.
Lakpa Rita Sherpa
Lakpa Rita Sherpa is a world renowned climber and mountain guide. He grew up near the Khumbu Valley and has found the time to make 17 trips to the summit of Everest. In this video Lakpa explains the waste issues around Everest Base Camp, the effects they are having on the people who live there, and the solution we are working to implement.
