Fairyland, brought to you by the Playa fairies A Burning Man Theme Camp

For a first-time burner, the amount of information provided for living a Leave No Trace lifestyle while on the playa can be daunting. This Leave No Trace plan has been written with the goal of providing tenets and a checklist to help the neophyte burner maintain a consciousness and level of awareness that is in sync with a Leave No Trace event. Additional information and detailed solutions to specific problems can be found on Web sites such as the following:

1. Pick materials that lessen waste, are recyclable, or are reusable. When designing and buying for your camp site, use materials that lessen waste, are recyclable, or are reusable.
2. Avoid bringing things that can be left on the playa. When possible, avoid bringing the small things -trinkets, flimsy paper, small feathers (boas) and glass bottles, which inevitably are left on the playa for others to clean up. If securing objects to costumes, vehicles, bikes, and so on, ensure they are securely fastened. Avoid things that are hard to clean off a desert floor (glitter and spray paint).
3. Design a camp that is easy to clean and maintain. Most burners make an effort to live by the Leave No Trace principles. You can make it effortless by:

• Providing clearly-marked receptacles for the different types of trash (recyclables, burnable trash, wet garbage, and so on)
• For each "thing" you use in camp, have a place for it to sit when not in use.c
• Not only do you know where it is when you need to use it, but you also know where to put it back when you have finished.
• For "crafty"-type theme camps, consider using ground coverings (plastic or carpet) to catch small items before they hit the playa floor.
• Plan the teardown of camp. Provide a detailed breakdown and cleanup plan for the camp that accounts for every board, stake, nail, and scrap used. Share the plan with your campmates, allowing every participant to efficiently help during the deconstruction of the camp.
• Pack tools to support Leave No Trace.
• The camp brings the following useful cleanup tools, including:

• Flat-blade shovel
• Broom / Whisk Broom
• 5-gallon bucket and mesh bag for wet kitchen scraps
• Separate containers for recyclables, burnable trash, and non-burnable trash
• Rope and string for tying loose stuff down
• Extra trash bags
• Sledge Hammer
• Vise grips for removing rebar and buried stakes
• Magnet to sweep area for buried metal objects

• Camp members should bring the following useful cleanup tools including:
• • Ziploc Bags (various sizes) for storing trash you pick up while out-and-about in Black Rock City
  • Work Gloves - everyone needs a pair
  • Sealed-lid container for cigarette butts, such as an Altoids tin

• Designate LNT guardian (TBD) who:

• Ensures the camp stays clean before, during, and after the event.
• Makes cleanup of the camp spontaneous and fun.
• Recruits help with cleanup from campmates and fellow BRC citizens when needed.
• Takes part in planning for purchases for recycling and clean-up.Encourages every camper to reuse, recycle, and reduce.
• Stays at campsite until other campers have left; making sure no MOOP is left behind.
• Is not the camp cleanup crew.
• Ensures all campers do their part ensures the camp remains clean and MOOP free.
• Ensures all camp members understand and buy-in to the LNT process.

• If everyone in the camp and BRC do their part daily, there will not be a huge cleanup task at the end of the event.
• Every burner should pledge to leave no trace in and around the campsite.
• Allot time for cleanup.
• Put time aside for cleanup, not only at the end of the event but also during the event. This is a role that everyone must take part in all week.
• Consider cleanup when planning the camp.
• Plan the assembly and takedown of camp (structures, tents, shower, and so on) with an eye on avoiding the creation of MOOP.
• Camp setup and Cleanup:
• • Cut carpets at home and avoid having "carpet shag" on the ground.
  • Provide a straining screen between showering people and the evaporation pond.
  • Use carpet in areas where small items can be dropped (such as staples and nails).
  • Place screws and nails into their containers immediately - never drop screws onto the ground to pick up later.
• Keep trash separate and organized
• • Keep recyclables, burnable trash, and non-burnable trash in separate clearly-marked containers.
  • Avoid bringing glass containers because they can break and then glass fragments are left on the playa. If you bring any glass, keep it in camp. If glass breaks, stop and clean it up instantly.
  • It is preferred that you bag playa dust with the glass shards by sweeping the area clean afterwards versus a visual pickup.
• Remove extraneous packaging at home (cardboard, boxes, etc.).
• Remove the plastic wrap from all the new stuff you buy.
• Clean as you go.
• Realize that MOOP can be blown away or buried at any moment.
• Get volunteers to conduct daily checks around camp for loose MOOP. Create a roster if volunteers aren’t forthcoming.
• Clean up any MOOP you come across, regardless of who left it.
• No fires in camp.
• • Lighting fires on bare ground leaves burn scars.
  • Use a public burn barrel or burn platform for all burning of materials.
  • Follow the safety guidelines for fires and burn scar prevention.
  • Sweep up and haul out your ashes.
• No holes or trenches. Do not dig trenches or holes that are more than 6 inches in diameter (to prevent scarring the playa).
• Prevent MOOP from happening.
• Keep items tied or weighted down.
• Leave papers at home.
• Avoid creating flyers to hand out.
• Put trash in a container at the moment it becomes trash, otherwise it will more than likely find its way on the playa floor.
• Keep a trash bag in or near your tent.
• Give 2 hours to clean the playa. Each burner must give two hours to general playa cleanup. If you are planning to leave early in the morning, you should give your two hours on a prior day.
• Pack it in, pack it out. Take all trash home with you.
• Don’t use the toilet as a trash can. DO NOT put trash in, or around the portable potties. The rule of thumb, "If it doesn’t come out of your body, don’t put it in the potty". Trash dumped into the potties clogs the cleanup hoses (only 3 inches in diameter) and makes it difficult for the port-o-let cleaning crew to come, empty, and clean in a timely manner.
• Plan enough space to take trash home. Have extra space (8 cubic feet, or 2 x 2 x 2) in each vehicle on the way to the desert. You would assume that you have less to take home, after eating the food and drinking the water, however, seems to grow, not shrink.
• If you are running an interactive theme camp, you will also be taking home the trash of others.
• Don’t wait until the last minute. Some burners like to leave first thing in the morning: avoid traffic and get on the road early. The laws of physics prevent you from being able to leave early in the morning and doing your part regarding the cleanup if you intend to do it prior to leaving. Common sense states that you will have to participate in cleanup the day prior or leave later.
• Leaving before Sunday AM?
  

  • Putting in two hours for the playa cleanup can happen prior to Sunday AM.
  • Even if the camp is not ready for deconstruction or cleaning, identify what can be done:

  • Crushing plastic water jugs
  • Compacting trash
  • Taking recycling to Recycle Camp

  • Before the majority of people leave, have the campers participate in a grid cleanup of the camp.
  • Don’t dump your garbage on the way home.
  • • You represent Burning Man on your way to, at, and on your way home from the event.
    • Just as you want to leave no trace on the playa, you should also strive to leave no trace on the way home.
    • Stop at a proper dump or take the garbage home for your trash program.
  We are guests on the land.
  If we do not take care of it, we will not be invited back.
   

  
  

  A Burner’s Pledge
  After cleaning up all my traces, I will devote a minimum of two hours cleaning up the Black Rock Desert. By picking up stuff left by others, drifted by the wind, or simply forgotten, I become an integral part of the greatest vanishing act ever. I become an Earth Guardian. I experience the satisfaction of healing the world, and enjoy the reward of a clean desert.