On Everest, giant drones are being used to collect garbage
Increasingly crowded, the world's highest peak is overrun with trash. For the first time, the Sherpa teams tasked with cleaning up the area have been reinforced by a fleet of drones capable of operating at altitudes of over 6,000 meters.
A victim of the thousands of tourists who flock to its slopes each year, the Roof of the World has become the world's highest dumping ground. Until recently, Sherpas overseeing Himalayan expeditions were reduced to regularly carrying up to 20 kilos of waste back to base camp on their backs. But since last April, reports Bloomberg , giant drones have been taking care of much of the dirty work.
These devices, “capable of completing a descent in six minutes that would take humans four hours of effort,” now carry garbage bags to altitudes of over 6,000 meters. Between April and May, drones from the Nepalese company Airlift Technology handled over 280 kilos of various waste, from food scraps to abandoned oxygen cylinders.
When it comes to garbage disposal, climate change only increases the urgency, the American media reports. Not only Melting ice releases decades-old waste that can contaminate waterways, but it makes collecting it much more dangerous, particularly by widening crevasses and promoting landslides.
Made in China, Airlift Technology's drones can fly in temperatures as low as -20°C and withstand winds of over 40 km/h, Bloomberg reports. There's one limitation: they can't fly to the highest camps, where there's little air. They're also highly vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather.
“We are very happy,” says Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, a 33-year-old Sherpa who works for the travel agency Asian Trekking and has already climbed to the summit of Everest 15 times. He estimates that about 70% of the waste usually removed by hand by his team was transported by drones this year.
“We want more drones, capable of carrying heavier loads.”
Airlift plans to test new drones on Everest and other Nepalese peaks in the near future, with the approval of local authorities. At least five American and European drone manufacturers have already contacted the company to offer their models. “We are the only company in the world to carry out this type of operation at these altitudes,” says Milan Pandey, co-founder of the company.
Every year, from late April to late May, tens of thousands of trekkers visit Everest Base Camp, located at an altitude of over 5,300 meters. In 2024, nearly 600 reached the summit, at 8,848 meters, via the Nepalese side.
Courrier International
