Turn garbage on the 'world roof' into treasure

While thousands of adventurous people flock to Mount Everest because of the challenge of climbing the ' roof of the world ', Jeff Clapp is so fascinated by the waste left by mountain climbers that are so numerous that people call This 8848 m high mountain is the " highest scrap collection site on the planet ".

Jeff Clapp introduces a recycled bell from oxygen tanks.   (Photo: AP)

The situation of littering on Mount Everest dates back to before Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Nepalese) first conquered the world's tallest mountain in 1953. Hillary admits he left those the oxygen tank, the food container and the torn tent near where the two men stopped. Like Hillary, most climbers have to breathe oxygen because the oxygen level on Mount Everest is only 1/3 of the sea level. To reduce the load when going down the mountain, they often leave used items. Over the years, hundreds of oxygen tanks have piled up with countless climbing gear and other types of waste.

Among the efforts to clean up the mountain between the Nepalese and Tibetan borders - China has a very successful program launched by the Nepalese government. Accordingly, the mountain trekking team must set a bond and if littering, this amount is considered lost. As a result, the amount of waste has decreased significantly and the pile of garbage has been limited, said Deebas Bickram Shah, representative of the Nepal Climbing Association.

Inspired by the article about the waste problem on Mount Everest, Jeff Clapp in 2004 came to Nepal and returned to the pile of oxygen thrown away. In order to ' own ' 132 oxygen tanks, he had to pay the Association to climb Nepalese 7,000 USD and spend that extra money to bring them back to Maine. Shortly thereafter, he set up a workshop to recycle this aluminum bottle into polished bells, cups and decorations to encourage people to act together to clean the environment in their own way.

With the aesthetic of a craftsman and chef, this 48-year-old father " orthopedic " the oxygen tank into " Everest bells and cups " according to his call, and sells for between $ 500 and $ 3,000. /product. Taking advantage of waste products during the recycling process, he also made glass balls to decorate Christmas trees for $ 15. He said many buyers prefer these ' unique ' items, partly because they know they are also contributing to protecting the environment.

Currently, his products have been consumed almost and Clapp said he has no intention of producing further. Instead, he will return to Nepal and teach the poor here how to make bells for them to make a living. Clapp is partnering with New Hampshire state-owned Porters'Progress to implement a program to improve the lives of porters for Everest climbers. ' The ultimate goal I aim for is to bring this project to Nepal. When I first thought about recycling waste in Everest, I was inspired by the idea that what I did would be useful for others, especially in Nepal , 'he said.

Some Christmas decorations are made from Jeff Clapp
oxygen exhaust tank on Mount Everest (photo: AP)

DUC NHAN