Nepal, June 30 -- At Kathmandu airport, hundreds of visitors loaded with backpacks and trekking gear fly daily to the Khumbu region, the gateway to Everest.

Whether trekking, climbing mountains, or engaged in spiritual retreats, this sacred Himalayan valley offers exceptional adventures amidst the icy peaks.

But this comes at a price. Each year, the Khumbu welcomes between 60,000 and 100,000 people, visitors and porters combined, generating thousands of tons of solid waste that threatens the fragile ecosystem already under pressure due to global climate change.

Active since 1991, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) has managed waste on trekking trails, base camps, within communities below some of the highest mountains in...