Trash collected from Mt Everest goes into art
Workers from a recycling company dump garbage collected and brought from Mt Everest out of a bag, in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 5, 2019.
Trash collected from Mount Everest is set to be transformed into art and displayed in a nearby gallery, to highlight the need to save the world’s tallest mountain from turning into a dumping site.
Used oxygen bottles, torn tents, ropes, broken ladders, cans and plastic wrappers discarded by climbers and trekkers litter the 8,848.86-meter peak and the surrounding areas.
Tommy Gustafsson, project director and a co-founder of the Sagarmatha Next Centre said foreign and local artists will be engaged in creating artwork from waste materials and train locals to turn trash into treasures.
“We want to showcase how you can transform solid waste to precious pieces of art and generate employment and income,” Gustafsson said.
The Centre is located at an altitude of 3,780 meters at Syangboche on the main trail to Everest base camp, two days’ walk from Lukla, the gateway to the mountain.
Products and artwork will be displayed to raise environmental awareness, or sold as souvenirs with the proceeds going to conservation of the region, Gustafsson said.
