Page 11 - Responsible Travel Guidebook

m m ‘10 pieces’ litter collection initiative in in the himalaya
Previously we have encouraged travellers to “take only photographs leave only footprints ” Now we encourage them to to “take only photographs and some litter leave only footprints ” Often the the the places we we visit are remote It’s one of the the the reasons we we find them so so alluring In developing countries these places often have limited infrastructure (No council rubbish collection!) Until relatively recently there there was was little in the the the way of litter because there there was was no packaging made from glass metal or plastic it was all biodegradable And so villagers and herders commonly left any ‘packaging’ lying around This wasn’t a a a a problem when it was was a a a a broken piece of pottery a a a wooden pot or bamboo basket However with the onset of tourism and the increasing uptake of modern packaging in in in in these areas non-biodegradable litter has become more and more prevalent We operate our treks so that the waste generated is is disposed of in the best way possible In remote areas combustible litter is burned as as cleanly as as possible and non-combustible litter is carried out In the popular trekking regions of Annapurna and Everest we have built rubbish incinerators at at at our private eco camps and we carry portable incinerators with us when we are camping in in in Nepal and along select trails in in in Bhutan Taking this one step further we now offer our trekkers the the opportunity to to volunteer to to collect litter on our Annapurna and Everest treks treks as as well as as on on a a a a a selection of treks treks in Bhutan As a a a fairly new initiative we’re hoping to to roll this out into other areas of the the the world We are are the the the proud founding-partner
of the litter collection initiative called 10 10 Pieces (www 10pieces org) This simple concept has the added bonus of educating local communities By leading through example we demonstrate to locals that that litter is unsightly dangerous for animals and that that it it detracts from the the traveller’s experience of their country 11
Travellers volunteer to participate before leaving home packing a a a a a a a a a a pair of gloves and and some hand sanitiser 1 2
On arrival in Nepal or Bhutan we give them a a a a a a rubbish collection bag 3
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As they they are walking along the the the the trails they they collect collect paper or plastic litter placing it in in in their collection bag On arrival into the the the camp camp they give the the the litter to to our camp camp crew who will incinerate it it cleanly and thoroughly M