Expeditions to send huge trash bags to clean Mount Everest

FILE- In this March 11, 2017 file photo, trekkers hike towards Everest Base camp near Lobuche, Nepal. Mountaineering expedition organizers in Nepal are sending huge trash bags with climbers on Mount Everest during the spring climbing season to collect trash that then can be winched by helicopters back to the base camp. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa, File) (The Associated Press)

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Mountaineering expedition organizers in Nepal say they are sending huge trash bags with climbers on Mount Everest during the Spring season to collect trash that then can be lifted by helicopters back to the base camp.

Damodar Parajuli of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal said Wednesday that bags have already been sent to the Everest base camp to be carried by climbers, guides and porters to higher elevations.

Each bag can hold up to 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of trash collected and can be hooked to helicopters to be flown back to the base camp.

Climbers say it is urgent to remove trash left by previous expeditions from Camp 2 on the mountain.