idiotekniQues

What i mean is nobody thinks the waste just vanishes into thin air. It has to go somewhere. What they mean is the waste is clearly removed from the premises very well and very thoroughly. All that's left behind are footsteps and tire tracks in a layer of alkali 'sand'. Of course waste is produced - a lot of it - but it is all disposed of properly in the proper manner and areas, and no traces are left behind on the site itself.

Who said they are dreaming up some imaginary event where tens of thousands can congregate but yet there is zero waste left to dispose of at all? Of course there is. But it's done right. What else do you expect them to do or how to word it?

No trace left behind is a common way to phrase that. Hikers and backpackers use it all the time. I backpack once or twice a year and it's the same mantra - Leave no trace behind. That means we know we are going to create waste and do things like make fires - but we will take all our waste with us and dispose of it properly when we leave. We will also make sure to put out all fires. If you take a **** dig a hole for it. Etc... We know that we have been there and made some impact - like say flattened grass where we stepped at times. But all in all it's the most minimal impact we could have left since for everything else, we left no trace behind.

benaroundawhile

You might want to check your "facts."

WM opens transfer station for Burning Man refuse - Recycling Today

Waste Management takes action with Burner trash

idiotekniQues

Nothing alarming in those articles. Seems that the attendees all have good intentions and some dispose of their trash in commercial dumpsters on their way out - like say one placed behind a Wal-Mart or other business. What the concern is that this places a financial burden on the business who has to pay for the dumpster to be picked up.

Most people that do that probably don't even know it's illegal so there are no bad intentions. They see a garbage dumpster and assume garbage goes inside. And the key is there is no mention of actual pollution happening here. At the end of the day waste is being disposed of in, well, waste disposal receptacles. Just the wrong people are paying for part of it.

So it's a problem - seems they are rectifying that by the government creating a public waste transfer station starting this year.

Seems like they are working things out pretty well.

benaroundawhile

Not exactly. Improper waste disposal has been an ongoing problem. Whether it is illegal dumping in private dumpsters or along the roads. Pollution does happen.

"Desperate, not thinking clearly, they jettison their bags in all the wrong places: in portajohns, at neighbor’s camps, near overflowing dumpsters and rumors of dumpsters, even along the side of the road; "

Also:

Burning Man trash makes its way into Sparks

jon c. 

All the aging hippies of my acquaintance abandoned this 'festival' over the last decade saying it has become too much a gathering of silicon valley folks and assorted other 'beautiful people' from the left coast. But I never heard of any problems for those who smoke pot. That would have ended their attendance much sooner.

dksix

Did you go to any of the Ted Talks?

idiotekniQues

That's a problem that needs to be addressed ASAP. That would be pollution. Any mention of what percentage of the waste this is happening with?


that article was pretty much echoing what the other two were, that burners were dumping trash in the dumpsters of businesses. In this case of the 'Nugget' casino event dumpsters. As per a Nuggest spokersperson, they have no ill will towards burners, the event, nor do they think are are doing anything malicious:

"Many Burning Man attendees like to stop by The Nugget on their way back into town to enjoy food at the Rib Cook-Off or stay at the hotel, Jansen said. Most of them are respectful, and she guesses that the ones who use the event dumpsters might think that they are being responsible by getting rid of their garbage there.

“It’s probably just a case of them not knowing any better,” Jansen said. “We haven’t contacted Burning Man because we don’t think it’s the organizers’ fault. We love Burning Man, and we’re happy to have them here.”"

benaroundawhile

That's a question for the Burning Man folks. It's their quote:

Trash and Recycling | Burning Man

idiotekniQues

oh so that's a warning from Burning Man itself. that's a good warning - however to be more up to date as that link has a reference on it talking about 2004.

This is probably a more current link:

Leaving No Trace | Burning Man

Kaze6

Burning Man is known to many locals as "Geek Week."

Kaze6

One of my coworkers is an inveterate BurnOut.

She said that the vandalism at that camp was apparently an inside job, by the people who were hired to staff the camp -- and who didn't get the promised benefits. She noted that none of the stuff that was done would make more work for the staffers, that some of the things done required inside knowledge, and that the staffers were pretty hung over the next morning (suggesting the final destination of the booze that was stolen).

capnjonny 

When I finally got a ticket to Burning man after 2 prior unsuccessful attempts I red everything I could about the event and talked to my future camp mates about what preparations to make.

I took the "no trace left behind " idea seriously, When you start thinking about what sort of trash you create during almost 2 weeks away from a trash bin it is an eye opener. The main source is food packaging and I did things like taking my instant oatmeal out of the cardboard box and putting the packages into plastic containers (recycled from QT peanut jars ). Not being allowed to dump wash water on the ground made cleaning out dirty pots and pans a problem so I took pre made dinners in seal a meal pouches that could be placed in an inch of boiling water to heat then eaten out of the package.

Stinky old banana skins and old egg shells and other garbage was kept to a minimum by choosing fresh food that could be fully consumed which could be used up during the first 3 days before all my carried in ice melted. Melted Ice was used to take sponge baths and the pint of dirty water left over cept in a 5 gallon paint bucket set up so that some of the water would evaporate before the next bath.

Paper trash (about 1 paper grocery bag every 4 days) was burned in a neighbors burn barrel which was allowed by the event.

Aluminum cans were taken to the recycling camp located at Center Camp.

I brought my seal a meal and made bags for all non recyclable trash which was then vacuum sealed into small flat parcels to be taken home.

I am sure that not all participants took as much care as I did to be responsible but I think most did, especially all the "old hippies" who I saw there.

Lots of people complain about the things they didn't personally like about the event, the organization, or the philosophy behind it. After going there I too had my pet peeves.

In general though I thought it was superbly organized and run.

And remember it is held in Nevada not California and drug laws are much less liberal there. Having been to Reggae festivals at Boonvile where clouds of pot smoke of biblical proportions rose from the crowds in front of the stage, it was refreshing to see most people bright eyed and bushy tailed and seemingly not under the influence most of the time.

kevindsingleton 

How did you power your vacuum sealer? Mine requires 110V AC.

esmith2039

Interesting.. would like to go in 2019. My boys will be 11 and 8 at the time. It may be a 'hole lot of weirdness and more than a few talks with them. Still want to go at least once.

friday1970

Same here. Someday, I'd like to go, though I'd feel like a fish out of water, not being too much into art and all. I'd just like to go for the festivities and crowd atmosphere. Having logistics to go and having the wife go with me would be my biggest hurdles.
And as far as my MTB bike getting worn down there, I can't think of a better place for it to happen.

capnjonny 

Re the seal a meal, I had a 40 watt solar panel and a plug in inverter that could run it but we had 110vac provided to our camp so I just plugged into that

As for 8 and 11 yr old boys going to Burning Man, There is a lot of nudity both male and female so make sure you are o/k with that. There are some camps , like the Orgy dome, that are definitely not suitable for kids but only adult couples are allowed in. There are a good many activities suitable for children though and the Art cars and mutant bikes and cars are reason enough to go in my opinion. Your kids will either be bored or stimulated out of their skulls by this place. Make sure you are o/k with dust as there is plenty and it will insinuate itself into everything you bring with you. Getting in can be an all day and night grind with lines at the gate up to 8 hours long so it would be great if you had a large RV that the boys could chill in. If you go in a regular car be prepared for them - and you- to go a little stir crazy waiting to get in. The little kids I saw there all looked like the wild child in "The Road Warrior" after they had been there a couple days. If you play it right this could be the most mind expanding week of their and your lives. Or it could be a disaster. A lot depends on you.

Re the art thing, Anyone who appreciates creativity will love Burning man. There is no fine art there. You may see a 10 ft tall kodiak Bear made up of about a million pennies each placed edge on into the statue or a 30 ft tall Victrola or a 10 ft tall metal heart with flames coming out of the arteries. Stuff like that.