Ken Noguchi, Japan

The Japanese take their trash collection seriously. Pity the poor gaijin who mixes his combustibles with his noncombustibles. But that conscientiousness is often left at base camp when Japanese climb Mount Fuji. One of Japan's most revered natural wonders, the 3,776-m mountain may also be one of its dirtiest. The 200,000 or so visitors who climb Mount Fuji every high season leave behind panoramic piles of refuse on the peak, while overworked toilets along the climbing trail overflow with excrement.

Fortunately for Fujisan , as the Japanese call the mountain, it's on the route of the best alpine garbageman...