Trash Talk

[Chai Guy]

One of the most surprising things I discovered on my first burn was the amount of trash myself and my camp mates generated. Here are some things that you and your camp can do make the trash problem less of a problem.


1. If you don't take it with you, you don't have to haul it home. When packing your gear throw away any excess packaging at home. When packing your food supply you can even remove the outside boxes (like with a box of mac and cheese). If you need the cooking instructions, you can rip that side of the box off and tape it to the box. If you don't need the cooking instructions but just want to remember what it is, you can use a sharpie to write on it.

2. Water bottles create a lot of waste, so consider bringing a camel back type hydration system, or bring 2-3 water bottles along with a carrying strap, then all you need to do is refill. As for your main water supply, I find that I go through those 2.5 gallon "suitcases" rather quickly and they tend to not break down very well, so I use the 7 gallon containers that are collapsible, and reuse them every year. You can also use the larger water bottles that have for home water delivery and add a small hand pump.

3. When making your beer purchases, buy your beer in aluminum cans. Glass bottles create moop with their caps (I've picked up countless numbers of bottle caps during my moop walks), and if they break they can be dangerous, and difficult to completely clean up. Aluminum can also be recycled on site by Recycle Camp, and even if you have to take it home, the cans crush down well. If you haven't shopped for beer in a can lately, they now offer Guiness, Sapphoro, and even NewCastle in cans now, so there are more choices than just Coors Light and Pabst.

4. Wine- Same problem as above, choose boxed wine over bottled wine, it tastes great on the playa (you can even remove the box before you leave home), if you don't believe me go check out camp Space Bag sometime.

4.Think LEDs, EL Wire and flash lights over glow sticks, My blinkies usually the last the entire week on one set of batteries, and I can re-use them year after year, while the glow sticks have a life span of about 8 hours or less and then they end up in the trash, or worse on the playa.

5. Utensils and Plates- I suggest using regular silverware and plates that you can wash. If you really have to go with disposable, use paper plates that you can burn and at least wash your silverware (even if it's plastic, you can still re-use it). I make everyone in our camp write their name on their stuff so that they are responsible for cleaning their own utensils.

6. Try to have all of your projects completed before you arrive on the playa. I tried to cut some fun-fur on the playa once and ended up spending a few hours trying to clean the mess up from inside my van. The less work you have to do when you get there, the less trash you're going to create.

7. I set up three trash cans, one for aluminum, one for paper and burnable trash, and the other for trash I'm taking home. I use 5 gallon buckets with lids for my trashcans and they are clearly labeled. At the end of the week I take the burnable trash to one of the burn pyres and burn it. I also use trash compactor bags because they are super strong and when you're driving 600+ miles with your new plastic friend, the last thing you want him to do is leak.

Finally, dispose of your trash properly! It's sad to see obvious burner trash on the side of the highway, or overflowing out of the dumpsters at the first rest area on highway 80.

[dragonfly Jafe]

1. If you don't take it with you, you don't have to haul it home.

corollary 1a: don't do your shopping on the road to Burning Man

[unjonharley]

Dry all your trash. That way when you haul it home there are no spills. Have a differenr container for trash that comes from the barn yards. This stuff rots and rots everything around it. Your can get a 2 gallen bucket w/lid at paint stores. Once you pound the lid on it stays. Throw the whole thing away.

[unjonharley]

Dry all your trash. That way when you haul it home there are no spills. Have a differenr container for trash that comes from the barn yards. This stuff rots and rots everything around it. Your can get a 2 gallen bucket w/lid at paint stores. Once you pound the lid on it stays. Throw the whole thing away.

[AntiM]

Excellent suggestions, but I have a few thoughts. Trash issues vary with the size of your camp, your camp mates, and your vehicle.

We haven't had any major trash problems, but then we trailer our big stuff in, so we have the ability to haul out more trash and bring it back securely to our own landfill. We keep little "soap boxes" in camp, kinda square with hinged lids and handles, easy to secure to something. These are dumped into larger heavy duty yard bags which are secured in the trailer. Not a lot of wet trash as we're primarily a non-cooking camp, except for stuff that can be made with boiling water or heated right in its own container. At five to eight people, each triad or couple is responsible for their own food, and hence their own trash. We have the trailer, so we'll take it out for the group, but the camp stays MOOP free.

As for dishes, we're going disposable this year. Over three years we've had assorted problems with grey water, dish borrowerers who were not dish washers, newbies who couldn't seem to keep track of dishes or always used the clean ones, and food poisoning. Cups are the exception, travel mugs are pefect bike & carry cups.

Our food is in a big plastic tote, if anything is in a box or bag, the clean, dry empty gets folded flat and placed under or to the side of the other food. Takes up no more space and forces me to empty the entire tote when I get home.

We do the refillable water bottles too, but also bring a few smaller water bottles to go in the cooler. Sometimes you just need that really cold drink.

anti m

[unjonharley]

Tanks anti, Suggest for the paper plates. Any paper plate worth any thing has a plastic coating. .."Please do not burn that shit".. Go to your Dollor Store and get a bucket to fit plates. A smaller one for plastic forks and. Throw it allonce home. Lucky we do'nt have flies on the playa. Come by my camp (8:30 inthe burbs) for some gray water ideas. There will be a couple on display.

[Bob]

Shirley, the thin plastic film on some paper plates is nothing to get all Earth Guardian about. The stinker is people who put stacks of sopping wet paper plates on the trash fires and leave without checking that it's burned.

Tortillas or bread make as good a plate as any. I use a Sierra cup, mostly. Avoid sloppy food.

Nothing terribly wrong with canned beer, box wine, and liquor in plastic bottles. After a couple days in the dust your palette is trashed anyway. Re: hangovers, if you're smart you've already preloaded on Advil prior to arrival for the altitude and heat effects.

[Bob]

Trash your palate, too. The playa's funny that way.

[stuart]

hangovers? Can't remember the last one I had.

http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/item00205.html

[unjonharley]

30.00X7X3= a bad attitude. My shiting on the playa will be ok. Hell look how man square mile of area out here. It wont hurt i'll tell my friends it's ok too. Who gives a fuck, I'll be home with out a care in the world.

[bizbabe]

If you're interested in reducing trash AND you're planning to get beverages in the Center Camp Cafe this year, we've FINALLY gotten the approval from the NV State Dept of Health to allow participants to bring their own refillable cups! So -- don't forget your cup (hot or cold) if you're planning to stop by Center Camp this year!

[griffin]

Something related to trash that nobody seems to discuss is the burn pyres. The BMorg directs people to throw their burnable trash in there, watch it burn, wait for it to cool, and tote it out. That seems like a lot of time spent watching things burn. (I know, that's what we go there for, right?) Does anybody have experience with this? Do you go back the next day, and just take what it there? Guidlines for storing hot ashes safely. Tips to keep those ashes from blowing away? I can understand cleaning up if you have a few cereal boxes to burn, but a couple pallets, and a bunch of 2x4's could take a long burn time.

Any advice or stories would be nice.

[theCryptofishist]

I hadn't quite formulated it as well as you griffen, but that has sort of tickled my mind. I mean--what if someone else adds something, and then someone else and... On the other hand, what a haul if you want ashes for your compost heap....

(Yeah, baby, I'll haul yourashes)

[unjonharley]

I hadn't quite formulated it as well as you griffen, but that has sort of tickled my mind. I mean--what if someone else adds something, and then someone else and... On the other hand, what a haul if you want ashes for your compost heap....

(Yeah, baby, I'll haul yourashes)

~
This I believe is where burners become noburners. I have seen some crap in those burn platforms. Also I have watched theme camp burners burning everything they brought. Might missed the kitchen sink but every thing else seem to be fair game. I'll carry mine home. If in the future I plan to burn. I will do the planing before hand. That way I can stay faithful to the playa. Or as some burners become nonburners by throwing it along the road.

[AntiM]

I tried to stop a girl from throwing a decorative mosquito net with a plastic hoop into the burn platform by explaining why it was bad to burn crap like that. Basically she told me to fuck off. I was on foot and slow so I couldn't follow her back to whatever camp she'd come from. Snotty entitled Bint!

I'm not certain what I'd have done if I knew where she was, she'd probably be gone by the time anyone with the power to issue a citation came around ...

[XS]

Well done, Chai Guy. Good Thread, ol'boy.

Just a note: When I go on a 'regular' vacation I always allow a little extra space in my baggage to accomodate souvenirs and such.

Hint.... Hint....

When I go to the playa, I always allow alot of extra space for packing out trash. Seems it's not just my trash, but my campmates, neighbors, and whatever blows through camp that we can catch.

The large plastic contractors trash bags work wonderfully on the playa, they're huge compared to the regular 33 gallon size, and more resistant to tears and punture. (Plus you can use them for an emergency 'loo' if ya got a bucket handy.)

Keep it clean you children of the playa.

[AntiM]

We have a 55 gal water drum with the top cut off, it goes out empty or filled with consumables; anyway it is hidden in camp for trash packout. I collected a couple bags of bottles and cans and unidentified items from the adjacent portapotties early Sunday morning and was damn glad I'd thought to bring latex gloves along. Ick! Certainly was happy to have the big drum to stuff the trash bags into, they didn't break but I didn't want to take chances. Icky icky.

[unjonharley]

Every morning last year I went out to pick trash. I have pickup grabers and mini plastict bags. (don't bend so good in the mornngs) Whe people told me how nice i was to do this. I would hand them a bag and a glove and chalange them to fill a bag for Black Rock City. Got some great ansewers ;>(