Tourists climbing Mount Everest in Nepal will be required to each bring back eight kilogrammes (kg) of rubbish from April 2014, it has been reported.

The new waste strategy has been formed by the Nepalese Government due to the mountain becoming increasingly littered with waste from tourists and climbers.

The news outlet Associated Press quoted the Head of the Mountaineering Department at the Tourism Ministry, Maddhusudan Burlakoti, as saying: “We are not asking climbers to search and pick up trash left by someone else, we just want them to bring back what they took up.”

However, this contradicts a Guardian report, which quotes the same source as saying that each expedition member must bring back eight kilogrammes “apart from their own trash”.

The authorities have said they will take legal action should this rule not be complied with, however it is unclear what this action will be.

Previously, expeditions were required to show that they had brought down all their waste with the threat of losing their $4,000 deposit (£2,400), but enforcement was an ongoing problem.

Burlakoti said: “Our earlier efforts have not been very effective. This time, if climbers don’t bring back garbage, we will take legal action and penalise them.”

The hostile conditions of the mountain make it much more difficult to dispose of waste in responsible way.

In 2012, an art exhibition in Kathmandu commissioned 75 artworks, using waste from the mountain (including the remains of a helicopter) to raise awareness of the impacts of mountain tourism.

Increasing tourism

The Nepalese authorities have not had much presence on Everest, as annual waste-clearing trekks, as well as safety measures, are both taken care of by private hiking companies.

The crackdown on mountain litter comes ahead of a projected increase in tourists, as climbing fees from Everest have now been reduced from $25,000 (£15,000) to $11,000 (£6,500) per person. Presently, Nepal earns $3.3 million (£2 million) each year from climbing fees alone.

A project to expand Everest Base Camp, introducing more officers, medical facilities, and a prayer room are also underway.

According to the Nepalese Government, some 230,000 visitors visit Nepal to trek the Himalayas each year, with 810 people attempting to climb to Everest’s summit.

Everest was first climbed in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Since then, over 4,000 people have scaled it.

Read more about the Everest litter strategy.