Khumbu bans plastic bags and bottles

SOLUKHUMBU, Aug 20: Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality has decided to impose a complete ban on the use of plastic bags and bottles effective from January 1, 2020.

As per the decision, the use of plastic below 30 microns and plastic bottles will be completely restricted in the Khumbu area.

“The rural municipality endorsed the decision in line with the annual policy and program for the fiscal year 2019/2020,” said Ganesh Ghimire, Chief Administrative Officer of the rural municipality.

The rural municipality has also decided to distribute five different kinds of bags to the people of the region in a bid to replace the use of plastic.

Rural Municipality Spokesperson Lakpa Tshiri Sherpa said that the new measure has been brought keeping in mind the negative impacts of plastic in climate, human health and mountainous ecosystem.

Khumbu, also known as the home of Mount Everest, world’s highest peak, is a part of Solukhumbhu district. Over 50,000 tourists visit the Khumbu region every year to enjoy the breathtaking landscape of Himalayas.

“Failure to protect the environment would lead to catastrophic effect to tourism in the area,” said Sherpa. RSS