A recent cleanup effort across India’s Himalayan region revealed that nearly 90% of collected waste was plastic, with food and beverage packaging making up the vast majority — and most of it cannot be recycled.
Shreya Dasgupta reports for Mongabay.
In short:
- The 2024 Himalayan Cleanup gathered more than 121,000 pieces of waste, of which 84.2% of the plastic items were from food and drink packaging; 77% of these were made from multilayered, nonrecyclable materials.
- PepsiCo was the top-polluting brand for the third year in a row, with its energy drink Sting showing a “dramatic increase” in bottle presence — accounting for 20% of all beverage bottles collected.
- Volunteers and experts say local waste systems are overwhelmed by rising tourist activity and changing consumption habits, making even recyclable plastics like PET a persistent pollution problem in the fragile mountain ecosystem.
Key quote:
“The logic of being able to recycle ourselves of this mess is clearly not possible as the product design is single use and nonrecyclable.”
— Kapil Chhetri, Zero Waste Himalaya
Why this matters:
Mountain ecosystems are very vulnerable to plastic pollution: thin soils, limited space, and scarce waste infrastructure mean garbage, once lodged in the landscape, can stick around for decades. Most of the waste found during the Himalayan Cleanup came from food and beverage packaging, often made from multilayered plastic that resists recycling. These materials are useless to waste pickers and typically get dumped or burned. As tourism and temperatures rise, remote regions face mounting pressure from packaging-driven consumer culture. The real cost of convenience is being paid in microplastics scattered through rivers, wildlife habitats, and village paths—threatening both ecosystems and human health. Persistent plastics can leach harmful chemicals, infiltrate drinking water, and contribute to chronic diseases. Without meaningful accountability from producers or better systems for waste management, the trash keeps rising.
Related: Seabirds on remote Australian island found filled with plastic waste
