Trash

[Elderberry]

We stop at Harrah's Reno every year after the Burn. They are very hospitable to Burners to the point of allowing us to park our truck in Valet Parking when their lot was full. We moved our truck to the lot the following day when a spot opened up--when we went back to pick up our truck and start the trip home only to find this. Some ass-hole dumped all their trash in the Harrah's truck parking lot!

trash.png

[GreyCoyote]

Serious question: I dont see any dust in the stuff in the pictures. Was this Burner MOOP or just some random asswipe from defaultia?

Either way, someone needs an ass kicking, but I'm curious if you could pinpoint the source purely as an academic point.

[ygmir]

I see despicable amounts of trash all the way to CA. Donner summit rest area is a wreck, it looks like people take baths in the sinks and toilets and throw the paper products on the ground! garbage over flowing and all over the place.
And I know it's mostly burners, by the stuff, and the dust.

I can easily see how many in defaultia, hate when burners come through.

I know it's a minority, but, it really reflects on us all.

I found trash bags, full, at the trash fence (poetic justice?) this year, like someone was doing the ORG a favor by putting the stuff in a bag and leaving it for the "crew" to easily dispose of for them.......

foogin pigs......

[rideincircles]

What are the best options for disposing of trash after the burn?

I had to ratchet strap mine onto a tarp on top of the van when leaving Monday night after 2am. We ended up finding a near empty dumpster in Reno Tuesday, but tried to make sure it was nowhere near capacity away from the hotels and there wasn't any other burner trash in there. It was about 4 bags and the billboard vinyl. I do not recall seeing anywhere open to dispose of it on the drive out. It stayed put on the roof for the drive out, but scratched up the van roof also which was another issue.

It seems like Burners are good for many things when rolling thru town, but the garbage disposal seemed to overflow a bunch of places I saw. Hauling it back to my hometown on the roof was not an option, and trying to fit everything back in the van when packing up was a huge pain on Monday as it is. There was no extra space for anything. Once the cargo van was crammed full, it didn't open again until it made it it home 2100 miles later.

[tamarakay]

There are places along 447 that offer trash disposal for 5 bucks a bag. There is a trash dump outside wadsworth I believe that is open 24 hours a day after the burn for garbage disposal. On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

[Captain Goddammit]

You "found a dumpster"... did you have permission to dump in it, or are you not much better than the people who leave their shit wherever else? That's called theft of services.
I did something crazy with my trash. I BROUGHT IT BACK WITH ME, and put it in my own garbage cans, that I pay for.
You brought that shit, right?
Pack it in, pack it out.

[Elorrum]

You "found a dumpster"... did you have permission to dump in it, or are you not much better than the people who leave their shit wherever else? That's called theft of services.
I did something crazy with my trash. I BROUGHT IT BACK WITH ME, and put it in my own garbage cans, that I pay for.
You brought that shit, rught?
Pack it in, pack it out.

Exactly. Don't bring it if you can't take it back. Use the $5 services along the road. But do not sneak it into somebody else's paid for dumpster.

[maladroit]

Beginner mistake...unlikely to be repeated, with the admonishment administered here.

I picked up a hitchhiker on Gate Road. It was his first year, and his friends dropped him and his gear off at Apex then turned tail and headed for the hot springs. He did have a perfectly good ticket, but I gently introduced him to the idea that most people include transportation to their campsite under the heading of self-reliance. We went through Gate, he did the best dust-angels at Greeters I've ever seen (threw in some dust-worms too), and we parted ways in the city and I imagine he had an amazing first burn. He'll come back next year and do it even better.

[rideincircles]

I do wish I had chosen a different pass on this one, but it is too late to change what has been done. It was a large empty dumpster, but that is not much of an excuse, it just wasn't left out for someone to clean up later like in the picture shown.

It would have been unsafe traveling with it for long distances on the roof of the van and it scratched up the van even though it was contained in a tarp. When we left at 2am we were already completely exhausted and should have planned better. I figured everything would fit back in the van, but that was not the case at all. I had to take stuff out and repack the van multiple times as it was. My friend was near breakdown at the time and I was having to pack up camp entirely on my own.

I will take the heat on this since it was probably my only major mistake of the burn, but will avoid it entirely in the future. I admit it since it was a mistake, but I was not sure what better options there were at the time. Permission would have been my best option, but everywhere I looked at had garbage overflowing.

For this I apologize and do not plan to make the same mistake again.

[pretty_monster]

What are the best options for disposing of trash after the burn?

take it fucking back to wherever the hell you call "home"?! if I can make it back to PHX with 2 bags of trash in my Mirage, I don't see why someone in a van can't figure something out.

[Jackass]

If you make sure that your trash is nice and dry, I've put mine in the large empty cooler that used to have my food in it (double bagged of course).

[Elorrum]

I put trash in the empty cooler too, and the empty 5 gallon water cooler.

This is an element of preparedness that many overlook: the exit plan. Leaving no trace, lashing things well to the vehicle, being rested enough to stay safe, staying part of the camp group until these things have been achieved. Make it a part of your disscussions with friends when describing your experience. Having a story that contains a lesson learned, and helps someone else do it right will at least have some possible benefit.

[sadie]

I was saddened by the amount of trash along 447 on my way out Tuesday. I had 2 large bags strapped to the top of the van and stopped at the first place available that was receiving...$5 per bag is a good deal..it helps us, it helps them..win win.

When we got to the Love's in Fernley, the big dumpsters there were heaped up and overflowing with garbage. The employees were making announcements over the pa system that they were no longer accepting any trash.. as more and more burners were piling it on.

It's not that hard...pack it in, pack it out. The lack of responsibility or the entitlement that some people have is difficult to understand.

[GreyCoyote]

I hauled ten bags to California, and then back to Texas. No biggie. It made for a sort of cushion for the stuff stacked in the trailer.

Pack it in = pack it out. Or make paid arrangements for someone else to take it off your hands. Simple, really.

[Elderberry]

It was definitely Burner Trash. As it turns out, I was not the only person to spot it and take a picture. Someone else posted a picture of that exact same pile on FB.

We tried to dig through it a bit to see if we could at least identify a camp if not the individuals responsible; but we were just out of the shower and heading home, so frankly didn't dig as deep as we might have.

[mgb327]

I have a 3,000 mile drive home. I always use the Paiute $5 trash bag dumpsters. Always. I use the big contractor bags and be certain they are tied tightly. A little extra cost, but I don't need to stress about where to dump my trash. They charge $5 a bag, I always have only 2 bags. I always give them a $20 and my heartfelt thank you. How simple can it be?

[Roundabout]

On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

This might be more effective if it were handed out on Exodus. One person at a pulse point could get every vehicle without causing any delay.

[maladroit]

On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

This might be more effective if it were handed out on Exodus. One person at a pulse point could get every vehicle without causing any delay.

That's not how pulse points work...

[theCryptofishist]

On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

This might be more effective if it were handed out on Exodus. One person at a pulse point could get every vehicle without causing any delay.

That's not how pulse points work...

True, you're supposed to put your perfume there.

[skippy3k]

I've got a different take on this. The $5 per bag thing is cool, but I'm usually so exhausted during exodus and so focused on leaving that I know I'll never stop the 30 seconds it takes to drop it off. Hell, I barely want to stop to pee on my way back to defaultia. This means I am accepting the fact that I'm hauling trash all the way back home. So every year I focus on eliminating as much of it as possible before we leave.

It's actually really fun. It does affect the food choices we make though. No cans or things that require it's own bulky packaging. As much packaging gets discarded during the BM prep as possible. Things get relocated to zip lock bags or something else compressible that doesn't take up space in the trash bag. It's a lot like managing gray water...if everyone buys into the plan and it's monitored properly, you can really eliminate the potential waste before you even get to BRC. So this year I watched what our camp of 4 generated as trash and realized we could do a LOT better. Next year it will be just my wife and myself. I am excited to see if we can get down to a single bag of trash by the end of the week.

[Roundabout]

On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

This might be more effective if it were handed out on Exodus. One person at a pulse point could get every vehicle without causing any delay.

That's not how pulse points work...

I don't know what you are getting at Maladroit. You have got probably in excess of 500 vehicles sitting in one place for an hour. An assigned Exodus volunteer could easily distribute trash disposal instructions/suggestions during that stoppage before the next pulse.

[666isMONEY]

95% of my trash was glass (beer bottles), plastic water bottles and tin cans (was on a tin can diet, lost 15-pounds on 2-month vacation) . . . did not see any recycling anywhere.

Dumped the small bag of cans at a car wash in Fernley (wash ripped me off of $0.75) and the plastic and glass bottles at a huge, nearly empty dumpster at Walker Lake (managed by BLM).

Did see a guy with a bicycle trailer filled with aluminum cans going from camp to camp.

[doktarspazz]

did anyone actually receive the trash/recycling flier this year? they were not being handed out Friday (before opening) night.

[maladroit]

This might be more effective if it were handed out on Exodus. One person at a pulse point could get every vehicle without causing any delay.

That's not how pulse points work...

I don't know what you are getting at Maladroit. You have got probably in excess of 500 vehicles sitting in one place for an hour. An assigned Exodus volunteer could easily distribute trash disposal instructions/suggestions during that stoppage before the next pulse.

You really think it would be "easy" to walk up and down a mile of 8+ lanes of dusty cars, delivering garbage info to a new vehicle every 7.2 seconds, making sure to hit every vehicle as the shift and change lanes and more are added at the tail end of the line every minute?

Keep in mind that they're trying to limit outbound traffic to 1000 vehicles per hour, so our poor volunteer needs to spend 3.6 seconds delivering the message to each car. Maybe we should hire Santa!

[misfit]

maybe get your message out through BMIR...

[otakup0pe]

Or maybe, just maybe, read the survival guide.

[AntiM]

We are lucky, with a tarped trailer, we can take our trash all the way home. I don't reduce packaging much, but we have the space, so it works. I can see how that is a great strategy though. Our camp is small, we do not generate more than two 33 gal. trash bags and a couple half filled MOOP containers. One bag rides home in the trash can, one gets tucked in where it fits. We'd never dump carpet, that is just wasteful and rude.

A lot of the trash drop offs I saw on Monday were full, some tarped dumpsters, some closed signs. Only one was in full swing, near Nixon.

Is it me, or is a lot of the trash along 447 from poorly secured loads? People not realizing how the air at highway speeds can dig under bags and loft them onto the roadside, or fools who use bungee cords? Am I naive to think people purposefully set trash on their vehicles, hoping it will fall off?

I can believe people read the survival guide, but fall into an easier way of unloading trash on others, rather than doing what is correct.

[Captain Goddammit]

I'm always horrified by how much shit is on the side of 447 after Burning Man, and I can't help but notice that it's mostly garbage, very little "stuff".

[Wrath]

On one of the inserts you got at greeters is a list of places to take trash.

We never got those. I figured the program was shut down or something so it all came home with us.

[forty_eight]

The painter's tarp that serves as shade structure flooring during the week serves as the "wrapper" for all of my trash and onto the roof of the car tied down with ridiculous redundancy it goes ... works well.

And the stop at the dumpsters takes 5 minutes and $10.

Asshole behavior on the way home pisses off communities well into CA. My friends in Mammoth Lakes have very little nice to say about burners as a result.

It's preaching to the choir on ePlaya, but don't be that fucking guy. Take care of your trash responsibly.

It takes a shine off the burn coming down 447 and seeing trash bags on the side of the road. It really does.