Over 100 students from five different Australian schools will be taking on Nepal’s litter problem from September to December 2017. They will do this by participating in 10 Pieces in Nepal for 7 days as part of World Youth Adventures. That’s over 7,000 pieces of litter collected from Nepal’s wilderness trails at a minimum. Let’s get behind our students to see how much of a difference they can make.
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Aussie school students take on Nepal’s litter problem
July 19th, 2017 by 10 PiecesCleaning up Mount Kilimanjaro
July 18th, 2017 by 10 PiecesWorld Expeditions now offers 10 Pieces on Mount Kilimanjaro. David from Sydney is fully behind the 10 Pieces movement and says “(these are) the litter bags which we used every day as we climbed Mt Kili. The guides were great too and quick to pick up any litter when they could along the way.” Join the enthusiastic World Expeditions guides on the hike up Africa’s highest mountain.
Fighting plastic litter 10 Pieces at a time in the Himalaya
July 17th, 2017 by 10 Pieces10 Pieces is fighting plastic litter in the Himalaya, 10 Pieces at a time. See mountaineer, Tim Macartney-Snape’s take on it in Wild Magazine.
World Expeditions burns NO wood in Nepal
August 29th, 2015 by 10 PiecesAustralian Nepal trekking specialist, World Expeditions, continues to lead the way in Responsible Travel in Nepal with its complete ban on wood burning in its Annapurna and Everest region operations in Nepal.
The ban, which is the company’s newest green initiative in the Annapurna region, complements its network of private permanent campsites there and is designed to ensure the company’s entire trekking operation does not contribute to deforestation.
Instead of wood, World Expeditions will burn biomass briquettes, which are made of green waste, other organic materials and a clay binder to keep trekkers warm. The briquettes have the added benefits of creating employment for communities in the Sindhupalchok district, an area heavily impacted by the 2015 earthquakes.
In the Everest region, where the problems caused by deforestation are more severe, World Expeditions has burned yak dung briquettes for years.
Central to its strategy of minimising its environmental footprint in Nepal are World Expeditions’ networks of permanent campsites, which have the dual advantages of avoiding the use of wood in their construction and of employing more local people than lodge-based treks.
According to World Expeditions CEO, Sue Badyari, the company has looked at every aspect of its operations to ensure its environmental footprint is minimised.
“Preventing further deforestation is integral to any responsible travel program in Nepal and we have worked hard to ensure that we do not contribute to the problem in any way,” Ms Badyari said.
“The wood used to construct our dining rooms and bathroom facilities is purchased from controlled forestry in Nepal,” she said. “We’ve installed chimney stoves to burn yak dung and biomass briquettes to heat dining rooms and the Nepali kitchen crew travelling with our trekking groups use kerosene or gas to cook the meals for the entire group,” she said.
“It gives travellers concerned about minimising their environmental impact – and many of our travellers are – the confidence to know that they are travelling green in Nepal,” she said. “We are finding too that our philosophy is gaining excellent traction with more and more travellers becoming aware the environmental issues associated with lodge and tea house treks.”
As well as adhering to Leave No Trace principles, World Expeditions was the first trekking company to partner with 10 Pieces. See details in its new Responsible Travel Guidebook.
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, trekking in the Nepal Himalaya (9th edition), a typical lodge can burn as much as 100 kg of firewood each day for the purposes of cooking and heating for trekkers. With sustained growth in visitor numbers, Nepal has lost more than 70% of its forests.
More information, click here or call 1300 720 000.
Waste crusaders
July 25th, 2015 by 10 Pieces10 Pieces featured in ourplanettravel.com.au’s ‘Waste Crusaders’ article. Melanie-Grevis James talks about how we can clean up our act when we travel.
Nepal needs our help
May 2nd, 2015 by 10 PiecesHelp the World Expeditions Foundation Nepal raise $100,000 for those devastated by the catastrophic earthquake which struck on 25 April.
Most of the country and its people have been affected in some way and the rescue and clean up effort is underway. Funds will be directed to where the need is greatest and will be most effective. With their own people on the ground they can ensure this is facilitated with the involvement of local organisations.
World Expeditions Foundation does not levy any administration fee and all donations from Australian citizens are tax deductible.
Media Release: World Expeditions Partners with 10 Pieces Litter Collection Initiative
October 17th, 2014 by 10 PiecesWorld Expeditions is the first adventure travel company to partner with new global Responsible Travel organisation, ’10 Pieces’, in a collaboration to reduce litter in remote wilderness areas.
According to World Expeditions’ Responsible Travel Manager, Donna Lawrence, the 10 Pieces ethos complements perfectly the World Expeditions commitment to the seven principals of outdoor ethics set out by international not for profit, Leave No Trace.
“Previously we have encouraged our travellers to “take only photographs, leave only footprints” and now, we’ll be encouraging them to “take only photographs and 10 pieces of litter, leave only footprints,” Ms Lawrence said.
“World Expeditions treks operate on the basis that all litter produced by our trekking groups is carried out and responsibly disposed – and the collaboration with 10 Pieces allows us to take it one step further,” she said. “We’ve identified trails in the Himalaya that, due to tourism, are littered in some sections and we’re asking our travellers to collect 10 pieces of litter, which we then dispose of responsibly.”
World Expeditions trialled the initiative during the spring 2014 trekking season in Bhutan and the first participants were very keen to be involved. Ken and Helen Mills were on one of the first treks to trial the initiative when they trekked as part of a private group in Bhutan and guides reported that their group picked up an extra-ordinary amount of litter.
“We were delighted to be a part of the 10 Pieces project,” Ken said. “Remote regions are often without infrastructure for rubbish disposal because their own rubbish is traditionally biodegradable.”
“Other people on the trail clapped us as we collected litter and some monks passing gave us their blessings,” he said. “It was a wonderfully rewarding experience.”
Following the success of the Bhutan trial, World Expeditions trained Himalaya guides during its annual wilderness training program in Kathmandu in August this year, so the initiative can be rolled out in the Everest region of Nepal this trekking season.
World Expeditions invites our Bhutan and Everest trekkers to volunteer to participate in the 10 Pieces initiative. Those who volunteer are asked to bring a pair of gloves and hand sanitiser and World Expeditions provides participants with a collection bag and a sack for gloves. At a specific spot along the trail those participating are asked to spend just a few minutes collecting litter. Ten is a nominal number that draws on the notion that our small individual actions collectively have a big impact. Participants are, of course, welcome to collect more. Local crew then ensure that the litter is incinerated responsibly.
Lisa Vitaris, of 10 Pieces, said she is very excited that World Expeditions is on-board as the organisation’s first adventure travel partner.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with World Expeditions and very happy that the trial treks in Bhutan were so successful, Ms Vitaris said. “We invite other tour companies to follow World Expeditions’ lead and get involved.”
More information at www.worldexpeditions.com or www.10pieces.com.au
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Notes for editors: Since its inception in 1975, World Expeditions has earned itself an outstanding reputation as a world leader in small group adventure holidays and cultural journeys. The two factors that distinguish World Expeditions from its competitors are the number of inclusions and the exceptional value of its trips. The company offers more than 500 stand-alone itineraries, escorted by expert leaders and meticulously designed for those travellers who want to take the ‘paths less travelled’. Always innovative, it was the first company to offer cycling holidays in India (1977) and China (1978) and trekking trips in Mongolia (1980) and Tibet (1981). In 2013, it launched a dedicated ‘World Cycle Journeys’ programme and, as of 2011, is the only company to offer the newly mapped Great Himalaya Trail. World Expeditions is independently owned and a truly global company, with nine offices around the world, including Sydney, London and Montreal. For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact Michele Eckersley, at World Expeditions, on +61 2 8270 8400; mobile +61 422 726 344 or email michele@worldexpeditions.com.au
Welcome to 10 Pieces
April 4th, 2013 by 10 PiecesA warm welcome to you all.
We hope you share our passion about the environment and are ready to make the world a cleaner place – 10 pieces at a time.
We’re looking forward to launching later this year – so stay tuned for all the details.
In the meantime, feel free to contact us with any suggestions on how we can best spread the word!
Happy picking,
The 10 Pieces Team