Nepal startup deploys drones to remove trash from Mount Everest

ISTANBUL

A Nepal startup has begun deploying drones to remove trash from Mount Everest.

A drone successfully completed a delivery test at an altitude of over 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) while carrying a 15-kilogram (33-pound) payload, according to Airlift Technology's website.

"The maximum payload tested at Everest Base Camp was 32 kilograms (70.5 pounds)," the company said, adding the delivery of garbage from Camp 1 to the base camp was also "tested and found to be successful."

The project is being conducted with the cooperation of the Khumbu Pasang Lamhu Rural Municipality, where Mount Everest is located, and China-based DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer.

Everest Base Camp and Camp 1 are separated by the Khumbu Icefall, "one of the most perilous stages of the ascent," DJI said in a statement, adding that "while helicopters can theoretically make the same journey, they are rarely used due to the significant dangers and costs."

The Chinese company also said that each climber is estimated to leave 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of trash behind on Everest.

The agreement that the Cimex BYD Charity Foundation (CBCF) and Airlift Technology has signed foresees the cleanup of more than 1,000 kilograms (2,204 pounds) of waste this season.

The Nepalese government has been launching initiatives every year since 2019 to clean the mountain. By 2024, Nepal's efforts to clean Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks resulted in the collection of 119 tons of waste and the recovery of 14 human bodies and several skeletons.

Two climbers have died so far this year while attempting to climb Mount Everest.