A comprehensive Leave No Trace plan begins long before you arrive on the playa. Included below is a list of items to bring, and a list of others it’s best to leave at home.
- The following items are most likely to become MOOP: glitter (not allowed in BRC), feathers, rhinestones, Astroturf, sequins, styrofoam coolers, plastic bags, paper, string, disposable drink cups, hay bales, straw, gravel — or anything that can blow away in the wind.
- If you must buy single-serving drinks, choose aluminum cans over glass bottles. Don’t bring plastic! Aluminum cans can be recycled at Recycle Camp.
- Carry a MOOP bag everywhere you go — deep playa, art pieces, dance floors — LNT applies to the entire playa, not just your camp.
- If you smoke, bring a pocket ashtray (for example, a mint tin) to collect cigarette butts and ashes (yes, ash is MOOP!).
- Kitchens, construction areas and workspaces generate the most MOOP. Packing a tarp to lay down in those areas can save a lot of clean-up time.
- Rope and other tie downs are required for securing everything in your camp and for strapping anything on top of your vehicle for the trip to or from the playa.
- A plastic milk or water jug with a handle is ideal for collecting MOOP around your camp (which you should do throughout the week).
- Showers are great on the playa, but shower water is gray water, and not allowed to hit the playa. Remember to bring a water containment device. Conserve shower water by reducing frequency, using biodegradable wipes, or taking shorter showers (or showering with friends! — with consent). The more water you conserve or evaporate, the less gray water you will need to collect from your containment device and bring off playa.
- Don’t want to haul greywater home? You have options! The Playa Living section of our website has great ideas for properly dealing with greywater.
- Want more tips? Check out the Earth Guardians’ tips for keeping Burning Man clean and green.