!Zoom! Clean up plan can be downloaded as a MS Word Doc here

!Zoom! Clean Up Plan

(leave no trace)

About Our Camp

Camp Name : !Zoom!

History, background: We came together as a camp five years ago recruiting a number of hard works from various camps. We decided on a permenate name and model for camp three years ago and !Zoom! was born.

Estimated Population: 20-29

Nature and scale of our activities: We only have three large parties were we do provide trash cans and try to get people to bring the own containers to put booze in. The fire dancing is a nightly activity which only leaves a trace in the air, which we know is still not environmentally friendly, but there is little we can do but use biodesiel. We have nightly dinners prepared by 2-4 members of camp. The lights, sound, and projections are powered by two 2000 watt silent generators with regulators that only burn as much gas as is being drawn (we normally one need one on at a time). Late night lights are run off a car battery that is charged during the day by a solar panel. Our rocket ride is powered by human movement.

As a camp we will:

Plan Ahead
Practice the 5 R’s: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore, and Respect
Keep our camp clean before, during and after the event
Adopt the seven principles and practices of Leave No Trace at Burning Man
Do what is necessary to protect and restore the Black Rock Desert
Identify potential problems and issues that may arise
Create a strategy or plan for Leaving No Trace
We will educate all camp members about minimizing our impact on the playa

How we will organize for Leave No Trace

Our LNT leadership and structure: I, Jon Dickinson, take on the main leadership role and we then break into small sub groups for control of the camp. Marcy maintains all the recyclables and trash system. Jason is charge of burnables. Shimmer does the prepacking evaluation of supplies being brought so we are not bringing any packaging that we do not need or can not be reused. Ken is in charge of camp moop pick up during the week though everyone pitches in. Cary leads the garbage bag pick up crew later in the week that spends a couple of hours roving the playa. Everyone performs two sweeps at the end after everything is picked up and the vehicles have been moved off the lot.

We hereby designate Jon Dickinson as the Ambassador to the Black Rock Desert and leader of our Leave No Trace Team, for camp !Zoom!. The team will help plan our purchases, what we bring to the playa, and encourage us to reuse, recycle, reduce and restore our materials. They will think about how we and all of our stuff will get to the playa and make it home again. The team will keep our camp clean and fun before, during and after the event and delegate and enlist help when it is needed.

They will be responsible for cleanup and trash management in our camp, including activities and parties we host. They will see that our gray water does not impact the playa. They will make sure that all camp members understand and agree with the policies and practices of Leave No Trace at Burning Man.

They will oversee daily tasks and will have a plan in place when we get ready to leave, when it's time to break down and sweep our camp for every last trace. The Abassador will make sure EVERYTHING left goes with us.

The Ambassador will encourage our participation in community line sweeps and restoration with our neighbors and DPW.

Jon Dickinson, will oversee our camp breakdown and cleanup

Our Commitment to Leave No Trace

To minimize our impact on the Playa, we will follow these rules:

Before the event

We pledge to Leave No Trace in and around our campsite, including our own and others’ waste.
We have read the survival guide, completed our camp’s Leave No Trace Plan and shared it with the entire camp.
We will plan the assembly and takedown of our structures and decorations and use rugs instead of carpets and if we end up with any carpet to tape the edges.
We will inventory vehicle space so that we can pack out everything as we have done every year.
We will take the packaging off of just about everything and stock up on reusable products and containers.
We will shop for simple finger foods that done have individual packaging and prepare meals in advance to reduce waste.
We will bring minimal glass, and no cheap trinkets, small feathers, or anything that might get left on the playa. All our playa gifts are substantial items people will use like fire dancing toys.

During the event

We will check our camp daily for trash, especially our trash fence maze.
We will clean as we go, realizing that any trash or MOOP (matter out of place) can blow away or be buried at any moment.
We will keep our recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables clearly separated for easy disposal. All burnables are deposited into the burn barrel.
We will recycle our aluminum on-site. All other recyclables are taken in back home by Marcy and Jon.
We will have special cleanup crews for any high traffic activities we host and take care of any trash left by guests, invited or otherwise.
We won’t leave trash in or around the port-o-potties.
We won’t light fires on bare ground or dig pits, leaving scars. If we must burn, we’ll use a public burn barrel or burn platform
We will burn only clean untreated wood or paper (nothing synthetic) and follow the safety guidelines for fires and burn scar prevention.
We won’t dig large holes or trenches.
We will keep all items tied or weighted down, and leave papers at home.
We will not dump any grey or black water on the playa.
We will encourage members of our camp to carry a personal trash (MOOP) container and a cigarette butt container when they are outside camp.
Everyone in our camp will devote at least two hours to the general city cleanup (e.g. trash fence, local port-o-potties, café, etc).
We will help out our neighbors and fellow citizens.

After the event

We will put aside time and have designated volunteers for the final cleanup.
We will take all trash in sealed containers to a landfill on the way home.
After cleaning our camp, everyone in our camp will devote at least two hours to the general city cleanup (e.g. trash fence, local port-o-potties, café, etc).
We will leave extra space in every vehicle on the way to the desert, knowing that repacking will inevitably take up more space and ensure that no items can detach during the ride home.
We will pack out everything, including any unevaporated gray water and scum in a 20 gallon holding tank.
We won’t put trash in or around the port-o-potties
We will help out our neighbors and fellow citizens.

We will be Good Neighbors

We will encourage our guests to bring their own beverage containers.
We will help out our neighbors.
We will adopt the space around our camp, making sure that it stays traceless
We will help careless or forgetful campers.

Here's how we’ll do it

The design of our camp is in a way that is easy to keep clean except for the front which collects MOOP by design. For everything except our trash fence maze our camp is very well organized to minimize trash. Our maze normally collects MOOP from across the playa as we are on the esplanade and we happily collect it during the week. The rest of camp has rugs instead of carpet so there is no carpet MOOP and at the end we roll them up after picking up as much of the MOOP off of it as we can. We use small water bottles that we drink during set up as rebar caps that get recycled at the end. Though some rebar caps are stuff animals as well.

Our selection of materials and decorations for our camp is such that it lessens waste and are recyclable or reusable: All of our structures are reusable as well as their covers. Many are now secured by bungee cords instead of zip ties. The flags, blacklight garden, lighting, and pretty much all of our décor and art we reuse year after year and sometimes at other events during the year.

Create a detailed plan for the breakdown/cleanup of our camp, accounting for every board, stake, and scrap, and pack necessary tools and supplies: During break down we start with the maze first as it normally has the most MOOP from outside our camp. After that we work on most of the shade cloth and dome covers. One person is on zip tie patrol though all the snippers should be putting them in their pockets. Ken is always on the prowl picking random MOOP as we are clearing things away. I go around a pull all the rebar. We do not use anything smaller than a 1 foot piece of rebar so there is no chance of missing any small tent stake.

Plan for extra cleanup and trash generated by activities and parties at our camp: After each party we do a round of trash pick up and sort our garbage cans, which is the worst, but Marcy is a trooper. Trash collected in our fence is picked up on daily basis. Cary will be organizing a open playa trash pick up for the whole camp on Thursday.

Have a plan for proper disposal of our grey water, including containers to haul out what’s left: We use a small evaporation pool but we also have a small water pump that pumps the remainder into a large 20 gallon tank which gets hauled away. Everyone in camp uses either a solar shower (never the whole bag) or spung bath method of cleaning themselves. Many of us just pack up our dirty pots and pans from dinner to be cleaned at home.

Plan enough space and storage in our vehicles for trash hauling: Everyone in camp hauls at least one bag of garabage. We also have a flat bed and a 15’ box truck. There is always room for extra trash and recyclables.

Explain the ground rules to all camp members and post our LNT plan on our website.

Although we have only a few new members each year we explain thoroughly the importance of leaving no trace.

Plan a secured trash separation station with signage and tags and plenty of heavy duty garbage bags: We have a can for cans, a can for glass, a can for plastic, a bag for food waste (which become burnables), a can for trash, and a box for burnables with signs for all. This is normally set up by Sunday before most of the domes go up.

We will bring the following items for camp operations

Separate, sealed containers for recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables, a found bin and signage and tags.

Reusable dinnerware and utensils, including a portable coffee cup for the café and burnable cups and plates for those outside of camp that do have anything.
A large water container for camp water supplies (no small containers).
5-gallon bucket and onion sack for wet kitchen scraps to dry out.
20 gallon container for Grey water disposal for everything that does not evaporate.
Containers for smokers’ butts, there are only 4 smokers in our whole camp that smoke cigarettes. They all have little altoids containers that they carry with them.
Rugs and shade cloth as floor covering to ‘catch’ any items that drop

We will bring the following items for our camp’s breakdown and clean-up

Big whiskbroom and push broom.
Flat blade shovel for burn scar restoration or dune MOOP.
Large Landscape Rake and smaller rakes for sweeping though dust piles.
Stiff long handled broom for breaking up dunes.
Rope and bungee cords for tying loose stuff down.
Small spare bags for collecting trash as we wander.
Lots on industrial strength trash bags: more than we think we'll need, everyone or every couple brings on box.
Cheap work gloves for everybody.
Long-handled sledgehammer for compacting 5-gallon buckets and driving stakes.
Multiple pairs of vise grips for removing rebar.
Magnets to remove every last nails, staples, scrap of metal.
A 21’ flatbed and 15’ box truck to haul everything out.

Packing Out and Restoration of Our Site

We will take away everything we brought with us plus a few things we didn’t know we’d have.
Our restoration team will use cones on the outside of our camp’s border to define our boundaries, break up any dunes that formed around vehicles or structures, then divide up our area and begin line sweeps. We will pick up all woodchips, broken glass, plastic debris, metal debris, fire works and plant material. We complete restoration of any hotspots (micro-MOOP collections), or burnscars.
We will try to give a helping hand to our neighbors time permitting.

Black Rock Desert Restoration

We will each perform at least 2 hours of community clean-up.
We will pitch in with our fellow citizens and community service teams to restore the natural characteristics of the playa in our neighborhood, removing all burn scars, dunes, leftover debris, or other physical traces of our presence.
We will support ecological protection and restoration of the Black Rock Desert.