Tonnes of garbage removed off Mount Kazbek

About nine tonnes of garbage has been removed from one of Georgia’s most spectacular mountains.

A massive cleaning effort on Mount Kazbek in northeast Georgia saw workers remove about nine tonnes of rubbish waste from the towering peak.

The mountain, which reached over 5,000m, was one of the major mountains of the Caucasus and the third highest peak in Georgia.

The collected waste was taken from the mountain by the Border Police helicopter.

Betlemi Hut personnel (the highest building located in Georgia at 3,653m) and local residents took part in the major cleanup activity. Annually, the Betlemi Hut shelter hosted thousands of Georgian and foreign tourists, who sleep there for a night on the route to Kazbek Peak.

Meanwhile the cleanup of Mount Kazbek was planned and organised by the National Tourism Administration of Georgia. The organisation said every year thousands of professional and amateur alpinists visited the mountain.

The last time Mount Kazbek was cleaned was in 2004.