Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a community-based NGO established by the local Sherpa people of Khumbu, is the lead organization working to manage waste in the Khumbu region. SPCC has been continuously working to keep Khumbu clean through development of appropriate waste management infrastructures, and integrating sustainable waste management approaches, such as setting up a system for waste segregation, strengthening community participation, dissemination of public education, and finding opportunities for waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Since 1997, SPCC has been contracted by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to set the climbing route through the Khumbu Icefall. The SPCC also works to check climbing permits, monitor illegal climbing, and implement waste management strategies at the base camps of the Khumbu area’s mountains and peaks including Mt. Everest.

 

SPCC has partnered with Sagarmatha Next and BW2V to find better solutions for waste management in the region. The three organizations have conducted a field-research to assess the situation in the area, and propose alternatives to manage the waste on site as well as transport it to Kathmandu in an affordable manner. As a result, Carry Me Back was proposed and piloted as a jointly first initiative.