Published by Marika Listenmaa under Reuse/Recycle, Travel

Canada was wrapped deep in the cold dark heart of Old Man Winter, Although not long home after two months away, I started thinking of what I could do to escape the inevitable frost-bite or busted back from too much snow removal.

But while the solution was obvious –- I needed to re-locate, temporarily -– it posed a different dilemma. With green in mind, I wanted to be more conscious about my chosen destination –- someplace whose citizens were as aware as we are about the need to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Those scenes of warm ocean breezes swirling around my head, beautiful sandy beaches with rows of umbrellas, calm warm lagoons, me in my snorkel gear –- where could I go to relax and also support a green approach to our common Earth?

My recent stay had been in Nepal, a very popular destination for tourists seeking spiritual enlightenment. It also rates highly among those wishing to see one of the world’s greatest wonders –- Mt. Everest, the planet’s tallest mountain. But if Nepal is a spiritual benchmark, it also functioned for me as a shocking reminder that green consciousness is not a given. News reports indicate that the amazing snow-capped marvel, Mt. Everest, is also coated with an estimated 50 tons of garbage littering the landscape!

Mount Everest is traversed by people from all walks of life, who are fast making it the world’s tallest trash can. Last year, an Eco Everest expedition was able to collect 682 kilos (1503 pounds) of refuse from the fabled mountain.

Only a year ago, Yeti airlines volunteered to clean up waste and refuse left behind by tourists, hikers, climbers and careless hotel owners. They cleared away 17 tons of empty beer bottles, cans and other garbage from around the Lukla village, a popular point from where many trekkers and climbers begin their quest to conquer Everest. There is also a projected clean-up of Everest planned for 2009 by the Chinese government –- one which may actually affect the number of tourists and visitors allowed to experience the colossal landmark.

In Kathmandu, garbage seems to accumulate everywhere, and the air is often hazy because the Nepalese believe that burning incense cleanses the air. There is some municipal garbage collection but authorities have not been able to affectively and environmentally manage this collection. Some piles of garbage get dumped next to the Bagmati River –- a Hindu and Buddhist holy watercourse that runs through Kathmandu Valley. It is very highly polluted. Yet many Nepalese continue to believe in its holiness and consequently drink from it and bathe in it.

Others process garbage by sweeping it into a pile and burning it. I did not witness any form of recycling while I was in Nepal; however, I have read an article recently, stating that recycling does exist and is primarily accomplished through independent operators.

I am not interested in pointing fingers or declaring ourselves better than they are — or more advanced and educated. I recently read another article that stated some of the worst-polluted sites on Earth are located right here in Canada. I share my experience because it enlightened me that the whole world in fact does not reduce, reuse or recycle.

This experience does not change who I am, but does it change how I am? How do I travel? How do I recycle in a country where there is no recycling? How do I share the importance of being “green” with those who seem culturally color-blind to the issue?

The beauty of being green, eco-friendly, environmentally aware, a tree-hugger, is that it is a continually evolving process. We are always striving for practices that leave little or no impact on our planet. As we learn more and learn to share more, there may come a time when vacation automatically means rest, relax and recycle.