New Museum to Exhibit Waste from Everest

Varieties

March 31st, 6:14am

Kathmandu - Asharq Al-Awsat

Light illuminates Mount Everest during sunset in Nepal's Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region, in this 2015 picture. Reuters

Everest is not only the highest summit in the world, but also the largest mountainous landfill where adventurers have left around 140 tons of garbage in the past years. The landfill contains everything from broken tents to empty water bottles, in addition to 40 tons of human waste and more than 300 dead bodies. Now, environmental advocates want to use this rubbish in a good way. They are planning a project including a Himalayan museum and a sustainable park, which is set open later this year. Phinjo Sherpa, chairperson of the Himalayan Museum and Sustainable Park, told the German News Agency that this initiative aims to highlight the serious waste problem Everest is suffering from. "The idea is to turn non-recyclable and metallic waste collected from Mount Everest into sculpture, art and design products," he explained. The museum, expected to be ready in late 2021, will work with local and foreign artists to turn garbage into art, with a long-term goal of creating cottage industries in the region, Sherpa revealed. He said the idea for a museum came after working with artists in 2011-2012 who volunteered to turn recycled waste material into artwork. The artworks were later put on display in Kathmandu and in Sweden. "The exhibition made us realize that such artworks could be really helping in spreading a positive message", Sherpa said. It's especially important given that Everest is often in the headlines as a dump site for its increasing level of pollution, he added.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2891681/new-museum-exhibit-waste-everest