Nepal Is Throwing Out Its Decade-Old Scheme to Clean Mount Everest

Even the most remote corners of the Earth aren’t safe from humanity’s trash. Garbage has been piling up on Mount Everest since the commercial climbing boom of the 1980s, and one of Nepal’s longest-running cleanup efforts has apparently been deemed a failure.

Since 2014, Nepal has required Everest climbers to carry at least 18 pounds (8 kilograms) of trash back down the mountain with them or forfeit a $4,000 deposit. Officials hoped this would put a dent in the tens of tons of…