Does Mt. Everest Need a Port-a-Potty?

More telling of the need to keep Everest clean is the 13 tons of garbage that the privately funded Eco Everest Expedition has collected over the past three years. While the Himalayas are pretty much viewed as the apex (sorry, had to) of crisp, clean mountain air, the nickname that some conservationists have given it — “the world’s highest dumpster” — might be more deserved than one would imagine.

While I’ve never been to Everest, I think installing portable bathrooms might be a bit heavy-handed of an approach. Instead, I think a less-invasive PR mission would do the trick, telling travelers to leave the fresh, pure mountain snow exactly as they found it: edible.