KATHMANDU: Single-use plastics have been banned in the Mount Everest region of Nepal to reduce the vast amounts of the waste left by trekkers and mountaineers.

Single-use plastics will be banned in the Everest region from January 2020.

The ban covers the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality, which is home to Mount Everest and many other major peaks.

It forbids climbers taking plastic items of less than 30 microns in thickness and includes drinks in plastic bottles.

“If we start now, it will help keep our region, the Everest and the mountains clean long term,” municipal official Ganesh Ghimire told AFP.

After a record number of climbers this year – and an especially high fatality rate – more than 10 tonnes of trash was collected from the mountain.

Authorities will work with the Nepal Mountaineering Association and trekking companies to ensure the ban is upheld, although it hasn’t disclosed what penalties will be imposed for violations. Including trekkers, the region receives more than 50,000 tourists each year.

This year a record 885 people reached the summit of Everest.