Hey, it’s me again. Hope you’re doing great out there and that your plans for the desert are coming together.

If you have read through your Survival Guide (and I hope you have!), you already know there are a lot of things you need to do and understand before arriving on the playa. I don’t want to overwhelm you but I do have something really important that I need to point out.

It’s about MOOP, which is an acronym for “Matter Out Of Place.” MOOP Is anything and everything left behind on the playa and it puts our entire event at risk.

Always. Be. MOOPing.

You should see all the MOOP that ends up at Lost and Found. Well here, let me show you a little of what gets lost.

People lose all kinds of things on the playa, including bags and backpacks…

And smaller personal items such as phones (At the end of this email, an LA Burner shares his “derpy” tip on how to keep track of your phone)…

And keys…

(Black Rock City doesn’t have a locksmith, so I really feel the pain for the people behind all these missing keys!)

All items not originally on or of the desert are considered MOOP, but lost and found items like backpacks, phones, and keys are not our biggest issue. It’s the little items, the stuff not brought to Lost and Found --jewelry, wood chips, zip ties, glitter-- the micro-MOOP, that cause the most concern. This micro-MOOP is on the rise and we all are responsible for cleaning it up.

Examples of micro-MOOP (wrench shown for scale)

Leave No Trace

Many of you are already aware of our 10 Principles. These are guidelines that were born organically out of the early ethos and culture of the event and the community (maybe YOU)  behind it. Leave No Trace (LNT) is one of these 10 Principles and it means just that: Leave. no. flipping. trace.

Did you know? Burning Man is the largest “leave no trace” event on the planet. We don’t have trash cans or dumpsters. This means that every single thing you bring in, you must pick up and take out.

How?

• To start: Never let it hit the ground,

• Carry a small bag or mint tin with you at all times and pick up MOOP wherever you see it (MOOP is on the rise in public areas and the open playa),

• Make MOOPing part of your camp’s daily life, (like the Giraffe Family does),

• Take your trash home,

• Tarp your load when you leave (no one wants their stuff being blown all over Rte.447),

• If it was in your body, put it in the potty! Poop is MOOP. (Yes, people actually poop on the playa. Yuk!)

Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, as evidenced by the rise of MOOP, not everyone takes the time to clean up after themselves. It seems strange to be telling adults to pick up after themselves, but I’m willing to be “that guy” if it will make a difference. I find that a lot of Burners are self-governing, meaning they feel an obligation to do the right thing, but not all. Picking up MOOP at every opportunity IS the right thing to do. (I know so many of you ARE on top of MOOP and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.)

Btw, this “Greening Your Burn” article has some additional and fantastic LNT tips.

Too much MOOP means NO Burning Man

I talked to D.A., our Playa Restoration manager, about the MOOP issue and I learned from him that just over one square foot of MOOP per acre could FAIL our test with the Bureau of Land Management. Black Rock City is 3,603 square acres or 156 million square feet. The allowable MOOP in 1/10th of an acre is 3.8” sq. Why is this important? Because, in order to build Black Rock City, the BLM must issue us a permit.  No permit, no Burning Man.

I was also surprised to learn that wood is the worst offender. He says wood comes from construction, art projects, and firewood, and it is really difficult to pick up once it hits the playa surface and gets mixed in with the dust. It just makes sense that if you’re working with wood --of any kind, for any reason-- you need to take every measure to keep it off the ground.

(When you get a minute, check out the video D.A. recently made about the rising micro-MOOP issue.)

Also of interest: D.A. and his crew create a map every year that shows where MOOP has been found after the event. This tells us exactly who the big MOOP offenders are.

Click here to see the entire 2016 MOOP Map in hi-rez.

And, now you know who they are too. Red is really bad, yellow is moderate, and green is, well, GREAT. Go for green, people!

Ok, this is getting long again. If you remember nothing else from this email, please remember this:

Always. Be. MOOPing.

MOOP doesn’t pick itself up. We ALL have to pitch in and do our parts. Leaving No Trace is one of our 10 Principles, and it’s absolutely essential to our survival. Please, make MOOP pickup a priority! Plan to spend two hours MOOPing while you are at the event. Don’t worry, picking up MOOP will not interfere with your good time.

In case you missed them (or just want to review them again), I’ve archived all the emails I’ve sent to you.The “Be Prepared” is HERE and the “Contribute” is HERE.

Charlie “Louder!” Dolman

**Had to share this.... seasoned L.A. Burner Chris Taylor has a helpful pro tip for phones:

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Image credit: Micro-MOOP by John Curley, Always Be MOOPing meme by Chris "Starfish" Schneider

Burning Man Project • 660 Alabama St. San Francisco, CA 94110 • 415-865-3800
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