‘Clean Everest’ Project Helps Remove Over 8.5 Tons Of Trash

• Alpinist and eco-activist Marion Chaygneaud-Dupuy founded the ‘Clean Everest’ project in 2016 to clean up the trash accumulated through years of expeditions.
• Since then, Marion and her team have removed over 8.5 tons of garbage off the mountainside.
• After Everest, Marion plans to clean up the rest of the Himalayan mountain range.

Every year, the Fondation Yves Rocher awards special endowments known as the ‘Terre de Femmes’ Prize to three women to recognize their efforts in protecting the environment. Last year, the 2019 prize was awarded to alpinist and eco-activist Marion Chaygneaud-Dupuy, who founded the ‘Clean Everest’ project in 2016 to clean up the tons of trash left behind by mountain climbers.

Over the years, Marion and her team have removed more than 8.5 tons of garbage.

That’s about three-quarters of all the manmade waste on the mountain!

At 39 years old, Marion has already climbed Mount Everest 3 times, which is how she saw first-hand the troubling effects of over 30 years of expeditions on the mountainside.

“Climbing Everest should offer one of the purest interactions between humans and the natural world. But in 2013, when I reached the top, I realized that the mountain had been damaged by 30 years of expeditions,” she told the Fondation Yves Rocher.

“I estimated that nearly 10 tonnes of waste had been discarded at the peaks alone! I was utterly shocked,” she continued.

“I’ve been passionate about nature since I was a little girl,” she shared. She said that she loved playing in the woods and learning about different plants, trees, and animals.

So, she has made it her mission to help others get the best possible experience among nature.

Growing up, Marion traveled to India and Tibet, where she lived and worked as a mountain guide for more than 17 years.

She then launched the ‘Clean Everest’ project and enlisted the help of local authorities, who gave her 50 yaks to help carry the garbage down the mountainside.

According to the ‘Clean Everest’ project site, the “accumulation of waste on the slopes of Everest is contributing to the pollution of the water sources in the region,” which affects around 2 million people in Asia.

So she teamed up with the local authorities to train mountain guides as environment protectors and educate mountain climbers on the waste issues.

Marion has no plans on stopping. After clearing Everest of all trash, she plans to clean up the rest of the Himalayan mountain range!

Share Marion’s story to inspire others to follow in her footsteps.

Source: Bored Panda