Waste Management

In the last two years, the number of people climbing Carstensz are significantly increased. The growing popularity of outdoor adventure and the easier access resulting more people to visit this highest peak of Oceania continent. On the classic Carstensz trekking expedition, climbers will have to trek up to 6 days to reach yellow valley base camp, passing thru the difficult jungle and road blocking in some villages. This 6-day trekking is not included the summit climbing and the journey back to Sugapa. Due to the unstable political situation in Papua, Helicopter expedition becomes the only option which on good weather takes only 6 days including fly in and out the Yellow Valley base camp.

But with more people flock to Carstensz pyramid means more waste is produced. Like in some other popular mountains, waste is a major problem in Carstensz Pyramid. Bringing back the waste from some 4.300 m altitudes is never be an easy task since the only access is by helicopter which has limited weight capacity. With the high cost of helicopter, we could understand why, in some cases, some operators choose to leave their waste at the base camp instead of bring it back to Timika.

Being the leading operator in Carstensz Pyramid, we received lots of questions how we manage the waste from our expeditions. For years, we are committed to never leave trace at yellow valley base camp. Regular cleanups are done on every expedition. As waste is collected, it’ll be transported back to Timika by helicopter. In the past, we’ve teamed up with Freeport Indonesia to clean up the base camp.

Carstensz Pyramid has been our home for more than 20 years and it’s our responsibility to preserve its environment. In addition to the waste management that we’ve been practicing, we are committed to take further steps for a better eco-friendly environment in Carstensz Pyramid.

· A reusable water bottle will be provided for each client to limit disposable water bottle usage

· Disposable water bottle will be limited on our expedition. We encourage our clients to use refill water. However, disposable water bottle will be provided to those who request it.