"Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them."โ from the 10 Principles of Burning Man, written by Larry Harvey (2004)
What it means
Everything you bring in, you take out. Everything. Including greywater and that one sequin.
MOOP = Matter Out Of Place. The city is swept inch by inch after the event, and camps are graded.
Better than no trace: leave it better than you found it.
๐ข How the Turtles live it
Greywater is engineered, not dumped: our shower and kitchen water is collected, pumped, and hauled out. And we live this year-round โ Phoenix Gulch, our Boulder HQ, is an active land-restoration project: water terraces, drought-tolerant trees, native grasses. Leave No Trace starts at home.
First-burn tips
No feathers, no glitter, no sequined anything that sheds. MOOP prevention beats MOOP cleanup.
Carry a small trash bag ('MOOP bag') and pocket what you find, even if it's not yours.
Your camp's LNT grade is public and affects placement next year. Sweep your square meter.