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GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY RIDE!
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Burning Man cares deeply about the environment, and we take special care of the Black Rock Desert. We do everything we can to lessen our impact and leave no trace, and we can't do that without the help of every Burner on the playa.
Here’s our annual compilation of tips and tricks for greening your Burn. It all starts with careful planning, carries on to your practices on playa, then disposing of your trash and recycling after the event, and finishing up with how you live your life back home, year round.
Shout out to Karina and the Earth Guardians, who contribute to this issue every year! Please do pay them a visit on playa (they're right on the Esplanade at 5:30). They host over 50 activities on environmental topics ranging from natural history and biodiversity loss to practical tips on how to live more plastic-free, reduce waste and incorporate alternative energy technologies into your on-playa & off-playa life. They also offer hands-on DIY workshops that encourage a greener lifestyle, provide solar baked cookies and veggies and have dance and music performances.
New for this year’s edition, we’re also joined by Ladyhawke from Burning Man’s Government Relations team and DA, manager of Playa Restoration. These two staff members play critical roles in making sure all our environmental efforts meet the high standards we share with the government agencies who are the stewards of this desert land. Their work ensures we get to come back out there and do it again every year, so if you like to have Burning Man, listen up!
If this important cause matters to you, consider volunteering with Earth Guardians or joining up with Playa Resto and be part of the effort to keep Burning Man the largest Leave No Trace event in the world.
Remember: it all depends on YOU. Please share this information with each of your campmates!
The Man burns in 46 days!
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Leaving No Trace: 7 Hot Tips
Every participant plays a part in Leaving No Trace at our ephemeral event. That's you! This JRS is chock full of important practices and ways to help. There's a lot to do, so there's a lot to read.
If you want your Leaving No Trace advice bite-sized, it all boils down to this:
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MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) is bad. Don't drop it. If you see it, pick it up and take it with you. Don't let the wind take it.
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Pack it in, pack it out. Include ALL your clean-up needs in your game plan for getting into and out of the event. (Also, have a game plan for getting into and out of the event.)
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Conserve energy. Use renewable energy sources (solar, wind, biodiesel). Take Burner Express!
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Buy minimal and environmentally friendly supplies. Reuse instead of replacing. Avoid packaging. Share.
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Try to make most of your waste recyclable. After the event, recycle it. If you must pack out landfill trash, dispose of it responsibly.
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If it wasn't in your body, don't put it in the potty.
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Make a plan to deal with gray water.
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Spread the word. Clean up with your neighbors.
REMEMBER: Your environmental impact at Burning Man can affect our right to continue holding this event. The Black Rock Desert is protected federal land, and the freight train of Burners blows through lots of communities on its way in and out. If we don't minimize our impact and treat the land and people with respect, they won't want us to come back. So let's all do our part and leave no trace, alright?
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Protect the Playa
Ladyhawke writes:
“Burning Man is the largest Leave No Trace (LNT) event on Federal land. There is an entire crew — the LNT Outreach and Environmental Compliance team — whose mission is to cruise around BRC during the event, educate people about LNT practices tailored to the desert environment, and identify issues within camps that need to be remedied. They are Burners just like you, from Earth Guardians and Rangers. If this team comes to your camp, or leaves you a message, it means you need to fix something! You will have you 48 hours to make the fix, and they will help you do the trick, but if you don’t comply, your issue may get escalated to law enforcement. So read up! These are the rules!”
LNT Outreach and Environmental Compliance Team priorities
There are five common issues at Burning Man that need to monitored.
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Burn barrels
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Engine oil leaks
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Fuel storage, spills, containment, and safety
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Gray and black water leaks
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MOOP
Burn barrels
Burning directly on the alkaline playa bakes the surface into a dark, hard brick-like material and causes damage.
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Keep burn barrels off the playa surface. Look for ways to modify the barrel and/or to raise it up off the ground by at least two inches.
Engine oil leak
Engine oil leaks are common, especially in older vehicles, and they are bad for the playa.
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Check under your vehicle every day. If your engine oil is leaking on the playa, use a drip pan, tarp, rug, plywood, or anything that can be secured to the ground so it catches the oil.
Fuel storage
Most fuel spills result from improper storage and transfer of fuel.
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Fuel will expand with heat. Never fill your fuel containers past 80%, no matter whether you use a five-gallon jug or a 55-gallon drum.
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Protect the playa surface from fuel spills. All containers, regardless of size, must be stored within “secondary containment” basins. These basins must be capable of holding 110% of the volume of the largest single fuel container stored within it.
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Size of spill matters. Less than a bicycle wheel, dig it up and dispose of it. More than that, get help. BRC has a hazmat team that can handle any spilled substance. Find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station.
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Fuel safety is critical. More tips here.
Gray and black water spills
Leaking is commonly caused by being overfilled or, worse, a crack in a tank or container.
If you see a spill, do the following:
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Stop using it. Until you fix it, no more showers, toilets or baths.
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Contain it. Use a bucket to collect the leaking fluids. If you’ve got a large spill that is leaking into public pathways, mark off the area with cones, and get help. Find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station. You won’t get in trouble for trying to fix something.
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Dig it up. If all the contaminated playa can fit in a five gallon bucket, use a shovel to dig it up and dispose of off playa. If the spill affects a playa surface larger than five gallons, and/or is out of control, find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station. Be proactive.
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Fix it. If your spill is due to a crack or some other malfunction, you may have to stop using your tanks entirely. If it’s simply overfilled, it is possible to get your tank emptied or pumped by United Site Services (USS). You can flag down a truck on site, but it’s better to arrange for servicing pre-event. Call USS in Nevada to plan ahead, especially if you anticipate needing large gray water containment or regular pumping.
MOOP (Matter Out Of Place)
Never let it hit the ground. If you don’t actively MOOP, you jeopardize the Burning Man permit and the annual Bureau of Land Management (BLM) post-event site inspection.
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Monitor your camp. Don’t leave cigarette butts, bottles and cans lying around. Before you leave your camp, make sure everything is secure; whiteouts and dust storms will happen while you are away.
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Pack it out. There are no trash cans. All of your waste, down to the last little millimeter of plastic from the seal of a water bottle top, is your responsibility to take home. Pick up everything. Conduct line sweeps of your camp before you drive away.
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PRO TIP: Manage your waste throughout the event so it isn’t a burden at the end. Tie down and sort your trash. Crush and contain your cans. Separate your food waste and dry it out in the sun.
Get help! Anything over 25 gallons spilled is considered an environmental emergency. Get help if something is not easily cleaned up, or is actively spilling with no way to stop. We don’t want any spill to go unmitigated. Find someone with a radio or go to any Ranger or ESD station. Protect the playa and our community.
PRO TIP: Bring a five-gallon bucket.
A five-gallon bucket is very handy on the playa.
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A bucket underneath a leaky tank will capture any residual drips.
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If you have a small fuel leak or gray or black water spill and the contaminated playa fits in a five-gallon bucket, you can dig up the soil and dispose of the bucket off site.
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Use your bucket to gather MOOP as you clean up your camp.
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Learn Before You Burn
So you made it past the bullet points. Good for you. There's much more to learn about Leaving No Trace at Burning Man. The Survival Guide is your one-stop-shop for doing it right on the playa, and the First Timer's Guide gives you the high-level overview of what Burning Man is about. If this is new to you, start there.
Whether you've Burned zero or 27 times, it can’t hurt to brush up on the Earth Guardians' tips and information about keeping Burning Man clean and green. And for good measure, here are more eco-friendly Burner resources.
Make sure you know your stuff before you go, and make environment plans for your camp, whether it's just you or 200 people. If you're a big camp, you should consider having a dedicated Leaving No Trace/Green Team to make sure everybody does their part.
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Rethink and Reduce What You Purchase and Bring
How are you going to be sustainable in BRC this year? Consider the materials being used, waste produced and energy consumed. What are your plastic and carbon footprints? Use greener materials. Use nontoxic, biodegradable, renewable and salvageable materials, and those that can be reused or repurposed at home or at next year's event.
Camp
Select construction materials and decorations for your camp that are reusable year after year (it's cheaper!). If you can't reuse it, make sure it's recyclable. Reduce your use of disposable plastic. Design your camp structures for reuse, easy deconstruction, storage and salvage. Use screws instead of nails. Use reclaimed wood and metal when possible.
Clothes and Costumes
Reuse and repurpose old clothes to the maximum possible extent. Buying new things and disposing of old things increases your environmental footprint. And be cognizant of your costuming. Some things that can be particularly problematic (and should be used with the greatest of care, if at all) include feathers, glitter, sequins, beads, bindis, body gems, glued-on stuff, fake eyelashes, etc. Here's a list of notoriously MOOPy items and alternatives to using them.
Food and Water
Minimize kitchen waste and clean-up by planning simple, low-dishwashing meals, repackaging and preparing food in advance. Bring less food than you think you'll need. Take off every piece of unnecessary packaging and put food (and everything else, for that matter) in reusable containers.
Bring water in big reusable containers and bring reusable cups, utensils, bowls or plates, not flimsy disposables. Don’t bring single-use bottled water. Ask visitors to your camp to BYOC (bring your own cup) and take your own cup to the Center Camp Café and fashionable bars. (Unfashionable bars, too!) A carabineer or shower hook easily secures it for transport around the city.
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Conserve Energy and Reduce Use of Fossil Fuels
Reduce energy use by getting creative about ways to conserve. Incorporate energy-efficient light bulbs like LEDs or EL wire (not disposable glow sticks). Use rechargeable batteries. There are also many handy lights that come with their own solar cells.
Use renewable energy sources (human, solar, wind, biodiesel). The Alternative Energy Zone has been generator-free on the playa for many years! If you must use a generator, consider biodiesel fuels instead of gasoline. Visit Snow Koan Solar on playa to check out their solar-based recharging station.
Coordinate with other participants to carpool or jump on the Burner Express, to reduce your transportation costs and impacts! Share transportation and energy generation with neighboring camps. Note that many Regional Contacts also coordinate to ship different camps’ supplies to the playa. Check with your local regional contact and check out the Burning Man rideshare page.
Get your car's maintenance done on a regular basis. A well-maintained car produces lower emissions and will make it all the way to BRC (and back again). Consider purchasing carbon credits to offset your transportation and energy (generators) emissions. The Coolingman website contains a handy spreadsheet to calculate your carbon emissions (warning: website might not work so well anymore depending on your browser).
Keep your vehicle or RV from dripping oil, gasoline or other fluids (gray water or black water) on to the playa. BLM did a study on this and requests that we use pans or other barriers under our cars, especially older cars, to prevent drips. Be aware that BLM and volunteers walk around the city looking for potential violations. If in doubt, slip cardboard under your vehicle. Leave No Drips!
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Minimize Waste, Reuse and Recycle
There are no trash cans in Black Rock City, so you must take any trash you generate home with you and beware of the hungry wind. Bring tethers, anchors, containers and covers to keep light stuff from blowing away from your camp or your vehicle.
Plan to recycle. Buy only aluminum cans and dispose of them at Recycle Camp or pack them out. Be sure to separate any other recyclables (glass, steel and plastic) at recycle centers. There are many good beers in cans!
Plan your camp to minimize clean-up efforts, and don't wait until the end of the week to pick stuff up. Clean as you go. This will help you from getting overwhelmed by the mess and keep trash from blowing out of reach. Seal the small amount of trash you have left in big plastic bags, or in five-gallon buckets with lids, to take home, compost or, if you must, drop off some trash in local landfills.
Food, Water and Other Liquids
Collect food waste in a mesh bag. The food will dry up, becoming light and nearly odorless. Composting food waste not only reduces garbage but repurposes the waste to back to the earth. Use a container with a tight lid for transporting the compost home. Here's food wisdom from a decade on the playa.
How will you dispose of your gray water
from your kitchen and shower? We cannot dump gray water directly on the playa. Camps can use small footprint evapotrons, or collect their gray water and take it to one of the RV dump stations along all Exodus routes, or contract with United Site Services to let a professional handle the gray water disposal. If you're in a small camp, with minimal dish- and body-washing water, you might choose to
treat your gray water: pour it through a filter (like a paint sieve), disinfect it with (teeny amounts of) bleach, then, since it is treated, sprinkle it in your camp to keep down dust.
If it wasn't in your body, don't put it in the potty! Only single-ply toilet paper and human waste in the potties. Double-ply is too thick. Anything else will clog the toilet vendor’s two-inch hose resulting in unserviced potties, and that means trouble. Always use a potty for your body waste — don't go on the playa. Having a pee jug near your bed will cut down on trips to the potties.
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Respect Your Neighborhood, Share Resources and Hunt MOOP
Promote LNT neighborhoods. Initiate a MOOP sweep with your neighbors to keep your part of the city clean and green. If you get overwhelmed, ask for help.
Carry a MOOP bag as you walk around your part of the city. What’s a MOOP bag? Ideally, it’s a narrow fabric bag, (plastic bags can blow away) with a strap or clip, that you can carry with you on the playa. Your MOOP bag gives you a place to stow your own MOOP as well as MOOP you find on the playa. Pick one up at Earth Guardians early in the week before we run out!
Gifting in a LNT Community: instead of bringing cheap trinkets for gifts that become MOOP, consider the gift of one's self. Look around and pitch in to help keep things clean. Offer a tool, an extra hand, a gesture of thanks. Try giving a smile, a helping hand or a joke. Help a neighbor set up camp. You are the best gift.
Partner with other camps to share resources. Many camps now collaborate on shared energy sources and gray water management. If you're in a village, you work with your village organizers to place camps so that sharing generators (or even better, renewable power sources) can happen.
Discuss the possibility of sharing water and water treatment needs with others in your camp and village. Many Theme Camps within villages take advantage of shared resources to use larger scale processes to store their drinking and shower water and treat their gray water.
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Burning Things Responsibly
Don't burn on the unprotected playa. While resilient, the playa surface is vulnerable to scarring from careless burning. Burning directly on the alkaline playa BAKES the surface into a dark, hard, brick-like material. Use community burn barrels or a burn platform.
Speaking of burn platforms, this year's Burn Gardens and Wood Reclamation Stations will be located along the Esplanade at 3, 6 and 9:00. Each of the three Burn Gardens will consist of four raised metal platforms on a decomposed granite (DG) burn scar prevention pad (this is how we protect the playa from scars). Trained volunteers will assist and direct you and your pile of burnables. Staffing will begin on Sunday morning at 9:00 am and continue 24 hours a day through Tuesday evening.
Reduce and reuse! Fires are for celebration and spiritual connection, not places to dump garbage. Low temperature burning produces toxic emissions, so minimize what you burn. Recycle or reuse materials. If you do burn, be sure the wood you place in the burn platform is well contained. When the platforms are overloaded, burning wood can hit the playa and cause a burn scar. Have tools on hand to break down and cut up larger pieces.
Burn clean! Be careful to burn only clean (no paint) wood or paper! Don't burn anything that is toxic! Carpets, cushioned furniture, PVC and other plastics release dioxins, formaldehyde, and other nasty stuff. The Community Burn Gardens are low to the ground, and produce smoke that is easily inhaled. The low temperature, incomplete combustion emits toxic gases and particulates. Do not put any trash into your burn barrels! Don't burn that sofa! Burning wool creates cyanide gas. Don't do it. Schlep that thing home and take it to the dump.
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Disposing of Your Recycling and Trash
There are several 24-hour trash and recycling centers along the route out of Black Rock City that are willing to accept our recycling and trash. Recycling is free and trash disposal is approximately $5 per 35-gallon trash bag. This network has expanded to 17 locations, which each offer slightly different prices and services.
You’ll find the locations and their services in the Survival Guide, as well as on a handy rear-view mirror hang tag you’ll receive as you drive in the gate.
On the way home, secure your load. Don't let your trash fly off your vehicle, and do not dump it on the side of the road or at a rest stop! For several years we’ve received complaints from Reno residents and businesses that participants are dumping their trash in dumpsters and trash cans in Reno and the surrounding communities. Please don’t leave your trash in dumpsters, neighborhoods or at rest stops on I-80. When dumping is reported, we have to go remove it.
Use an approved dumping facility or take it home with you. Starting home, take a rest stop early; at the entrance gate, at a wide pullout, or maybe in Empire (if not too congested). Tie down your load and check to make sure it's secure. It is most likely to fail early in the trip.
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Volunteer to Do Your Part Year-Round
Karina writes:
“The Earth Guardians have volunteer teams that coordinate directly with BLM around BRC on LNT issues and have volunteer teams that support our information desk, and many performance, speakers and workshops in the pavilion. We also need folks to participate in our hot spring and MOOP train patrols. Interested? Visit our website or email us for more information. You can sign up for shifts using Shiftboard or on playa early in the week so that you can attend one of our volunteer trainings.
Devote two hours to general clean-up in Black Rock City. This means MOOP sweeps in the streets, public spaces, and open playa, removing all burn scars, dunes, leftover debris, or other physical traces of our presence. Stop by the Earth Guardian camp during the week and jump on our MOOP train mornings at 11:00. We'll give you a beautiful reusable MOOP bag. If the MOOP train is already out, we'll direct you to the areas of the city that need the most attention. Consider staying an extra day to help clean up and avoid the Sunday and Monday traffic!”
And if you really feel like helping out with Leaving No Trace...
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Playa Restoration All-Star Team vs. BLM Site Inspection: The Rise of MOOP
DA, the Playa Restoration Manager writes:
“The Playa Restoration All-Star Team, a.k.a. “Resto”, is the 150-person team that ensures Black Rock City is left clean and beautiful and without a trace, culminating with the creation of the MOOP Map and the season finale with the BLM Site Inspection in October.
Resto stays behind on the playa to follow up and support your Leave No Trace effort. However, we can’t do it without each and every one of you, the 70,000 citizens of Black Rock City.
At 156 million square feet in size, Black Rock City is massive. That’s lot of territory to cover. That’s why your Leave No Trace effort means the world to the crew of Playa Restoration.
Black Rock City has passed every BLM Site Inspection since its implementation in 1999. However, in 2015 the BLM Site Inspection reported an alarming rise in MOOP in the City Camping Area that needs to be corrected in 2016.
Go Green on the MOOP Map and Clean up the Playa Restoration way!
Theme Camps, Art Projects, and Participants, here’s the game plan:
Download Playa Restoration’s quick and easy presentation PDF (PDF, 27 MB)
Resto New Recruits Wanted
Resto is actively recruiting for brand new entry-level DPW volunteers to join the Playa Restoration All-Star-Team! Who are Playa Restoration’s leaders of tomorrow? Is it you? Because Resto is looking for you today!”
Sign up today to be considered for the Playa Restoration All-Star Team
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We were listening to ...
The Range — Nonfiction (2013)
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Electronic music full of real sounds that makes for a perfect personal soundtrack.
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Credits:
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Header Photograph: Recycle Camp
Photographer Credit: Regis Vincent
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