Math Camp @ Group W 2008 Clean-up Plan

As veterans of Burning Man of many years, we at Math Camp @ Group W recognize the importance of camp clean up and the “leave no trace” doctrine. Our cleanup plan actually starts before the event with planning, advice to our newcomers, and reminders for our old-timers for a successful cleanup.

Math Camp @ Group W has a self-appointed Leave No Trace Coordinator (LNTC) who is personally responsible for ensuring that Math Camp @ Group W disappears without a trace. This year’s LNTC is: Greg Solberg greg@acmeart.com.

All Math Camp @ Group W members must read carefully the following Clean-up Plan guidelines:

1) Pre-event planning:

a) Design projects and costumes so they minimize the use of materials that might turn into microtrash.

· Avoid small loose elements like confetti, feathers, and streamers.

· Avoid materials that shed or break into pieces like Astroturf, Styrofoam, and glass.

· Plan your construction so you avoid making waste on the playa, like cutouts from cardboard, glue drips, leftover wood, sawdust, loose staples or bent nails.

· Where these materials are unavoidable, take steps to minimize impact, like strengthening fibers with glue, or laminating glass, or enclosing their use area so pieces can't escape.

b) Pack to reduce potential trash

· Don't bring extra packaging, especially packing peanuts, plastic, and disposable materials like paper cups and napkins.

· Avoid foods that create trash, like nuts in shells, fruit with cores, bony meats, etc.

· Bring extra trash bags and plan on picking up more trash than you create.

· Anything that might stray from your camp area, like cups, utensils, and lendable gear, should be marked with your name and "Math Camp @ Group W" so it can be tracked back to you.

2) Event conduct

a) Smoking

· Most camp mates don't smoke, so don't expect there to be a path for your cigarette off the playa. Therefore, you should never light up unless you know what you are going to do with the butt (or other remnant). Loose (tapped) ash is okay out on the playa (an Altoid can is better), but the cigarette itself should never touch the ground, even just to grind it out. Plan on bringing the butt back to your own trash bag. DO NOT THROW BUTTS IN THE PORTAPOTTIES!

· Even better: Quit!

  b) Construction

· Be aware of any excess materials you may be creating - like board ends, splinters, bent nails, plastic remnants - and know how you are going to prevent them from hitting the ground before you start building.

· Certain activities are inherently difficult to keep debris free, like sawing and stripping wires. As much as possible, do these over tarps or in enclosed areas where falling debris can be corralled.

· Design your project so that it creates a minimum of holes in the playa, and of the smallest size possible. None of the Math Camp @ Group W projects should require any digging in the playa, only rebar stakes, which naturally should be removed by the people who put them in at the end of the event.

  c) Eating

· There is no central organization to collect trash in the camp, so for food that creates trash, have a plan for the leftovers before you start. Where is that banana peel or apple core going to go? If the wind picks up will those nutshells in your lap go flying? No food should ever touch the ground, and should not be left unattended anywhere in the open, especially where the wind could dump it over.

  d) Graywater

· Math Camp @ Group W has a graywater evaporation pond. Use it, but please be aware of its finite size! There is a limit to the pond's capacity so please use water efficiently when you wash or rinse anything - including yourself! Throwing dishwater on the playa is a no-no as the playa can't soak up water and becomes a mud hole.

  e) Recycle

· Plan to rinse and take your aluminum (don't use glass!) to Re-Cycle Camp, and volunteer to ride the crusher bike for others. It's fun!

  f) On the playa

· Make a point of chasing down accidental and random trash you see out on the playa, especially right after a burn. Please join in! The existence of the event depends on all citizens working together to leave no trace.

· Plan on bringing everything you take with you from camp, back to camp. This includes packaging, food waste, cigarette butts, sanitary supplies - everything. Never never never never never never never never never never allow anything but human waste and toilet paper to fall into the portapotties. We need them, and if the company decides that too much trash is in them, they will disappear, and so will Burning Man.

3) Cleanup

a) Plan enough time to clean up.

· Burning Man Organization asks participants to donate two hours to help clean up Black Rock City, outside of home camp cleanup. Block this time out first.

· Next, plan on spending an hour cleaning up Math Camp @ Group W, outside of your camping space and projects. Block that out second.

· Plan on giving yourself a little more time than you think you'll actually need to leave no trace of yourself. You may be surprised how many little particles are left in your campsite and underneath your project. You may need to chase down things, or people, as well. Be generous in blocking out that time.

  b) Commit to it.

· Sound like a lot of time? It is. If you are not willing to spend the time you just blocked out, don't go. It is one of the sacrifices everyone has to make in order to attend Burning Man.

4) Exit

a) Taking stuff with you.

· Plan on taking more away with you than you brought in. Early departures in particular should offer to take whatever they can off the playa (because the late people always get stuck with the trash), including pieces of other people's projects. Do this especially if you came in a large vehicle!

· Plan on taking that trash all the way back to your home. Do not dump it in Gerlach or Empire or even Reno unless that it your destination, or you're taking a plane from there.

· Look around for "nobody's stuff" - those are things that don't seem to belong to anybody and are there either because they were left for the town to use, or because someone forgot them or whatever. You know, the things that look like they're going to end up strapped to the roof of the last car there. There will be more of it than you think, and we late people are tired of taking it home with us on Tuesday.

  b) Before you leave...

· Check with the LNTC chair *well* before you have to go, because if he says you have to do more, you have to do more.

If everyone follows these guidelines, Math Camp @ Group W will disappear the way it should, helping to ensure the continuing existence of the camp and Burning Man for years to come!