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> How, after so many years, could Burning Man throw an event of such chaos, and yet leave the desert without a trace? Pretty simple answer actually, they don't

> How, after so many years, could Burning Man throw an event of such chaos, and yet leave the desert without a trace? Pretty simple answer actually, they don't. And a lot of the trash they do take with them they illegally dump in Reno. "Leave no Trace" is just a marketing slogan. https://www.apnews.com/ab70872567d94e2585d744e676c976f5 https://www.apnews.com/ab70872567d94e2585d744e676c976f5 https://m.sfgate.com/travel/burningman/article/Burning-Man-garbage-reno-dumping-leave-no-trace-13186812.php https://m.sfgate.com/travel/burningman/article/Burning-Man-g...

robocat 7y ago
"Burning Man’s contract stipulates that no more than 1 square foot of debris per acre can be left behind after the event. The area where a human effigy is burned had nearly 7 square feet of trash after the event, according to the BLM." 1 acre = 43560 square feet, and over the 7 square miles of the event (= 4480 acres) that was the peak measurement? Get real. "attendees — returned from a week of self-discovery and partying on the 'playa' — have the propensity to dump trash illegally" I think you need to be fair and compare against the mess left at similar events. Although it seems obvious Burning Man should provide trash bins - rubbish is generated in large amounts and they should accept that.
- inuhj 7y ago
  The reasonable complaint is that attendees are hauling their trash off the playa but the infrastructure to deal with the trash after that still needs to be improved. Personal anecdote: I attended lightning in a bottle years ago and they had a similar "pack it out" rule. Well that doesn't help when you're not aware of that prior to attending and need to dispose of plates from food you purchased at the event. I guess the expectation is that a day visitor carry around a trash bag full of waste with them all day. It came across as lazy by the event organizers.
aaron695 7y ago
> And a lot of the trash they do take with them they illegally dump in Reno. "80,000 people for a week" "His guys SOMETIMES pick up enough garbage to fill six 30-yard dumpsters." It's not a lot and I'm not sure it's illegal to put rubbish in public bins. And the article says people do it for instance because there are long lines to the allocated rubbish sites. Which is it? Are the lines long becasue no one is doing the right thing? Looking for outrage kinda bores me.
stouset 7y ago
80,000 people attend the event. Not all of them obey the principles. The overwhelming majority do. As stated by a sibling comment, the peak trash density was 7 square feet in one acre, with the event as a whole coming in at under the 1 square foot per acre mandated by the BLM. Compare this to literally any other event: music festival, political rally, concert, whatever. Your protestations are completely absurd.

robocat 7y ago

"Burning Man’s contract stipulates that no more than 1 square foot of debris per acre can be left behind after the event. The area where a human effigy is burned had nearly 7 square feet of trash after the event, according to the BLM." 1 acre = 43560 square feet, and over the 7 square miles of the event (= 4480 acres) that was the peak measurement? Get real. "attendees — returned from a week of self-discovery and partying on the 'playa' — have the propensity to dump trash illegally" I think you need to be fair and compare against the mess left at similar events. Although it seems obvious Burning Man should provide trash bins - rubbish is generated in large amounts and they should accept that.

inuhj 7y ago
The reasonable complaint is that attendees are hauling their trash off the playa but the infrastructure to deal with the trash after that still needs to be improved. Personal anecdote: I attended lightning in a bottle years ago and they had a similar "pack it out" rule. Well that doesn't help when you're not aware of that prior to attending and need to dispose of plates from food you purchased at the event. I guess the expectation is that a day visitor carry around a trash bag full of waste with them all day. It came across as lazy by the event organizers.

aaron695 7y ago

> And a lot of the trash they do take with them they illegally dump in Reno. "80,000 people for a week" "His guys SOMETIMES pick up enough garbage to fill six 30-yard dumpsters." It's not a lot and I'm not sure it's illegal to put rubbish in public bins. And the article says people do it for instance because there are long lines to the allocated rubbish sites. Which is it? Are the lines long becasue no one is doing the right thing? Looking for outrage kinda bores me.

stouset 7y ago

80,000 people attend the event. Not all of them obey the principles. The overwhelming majority do. As stated by a sibling comment, the peak trash density was 7 square feet in one acre, with the event as a whole coming in at under the 1 square foot per acre mandated by the BLM. Compare this to literally any other event: music festival, political rally, concert, whatever. Your protestations are completely absurd.