[Video] Leave No Trace: MOOP Is on the Rise!

Now I’m no Census researcher, but I bet if you asked random Burners to name one of the 10 Principles, Leaving No Trace would probably be the one that comes to mind more often than not. It’s one of the easiest things to understand about Black Rock City’s culture, but that doesn’t mean we can take it for granted.

On the contrary, MOOP is on the rise, and if we don’t get a handle on it, that’s one of the few things that really could put an end to Burning Man (unlike all those other things).

D.A., manager of Playa Restoration, made this video to educate and rally the troops (read: that’s all of us) on the nature of the MOOP problem and how we can stop it. Watch, learn, and share it far and wide.

About the author: Jon Mitchell

Jon Mitchell

, a.k.a. Argus, was publisher of the Burning Man Journal, the Jackrabbit Speaks newsletter, and the Burning Man website from 2016 to 2019. He joined the Comm Team as a volunteer in 2010 and as year-round staff in 2014. He co-wrote a big story about spending 24 hours at the Temple of Juno in 2012. His first Burn was in 2008.

11 Comments on “[Video] Leave No Trace: MOOP Is on the Rise!

  • Robyn Barnes says:

    As the event culture continues to get diluted with Plug and Play, and party types, the problem with moop will increase. I see old school burners having a harder time finding tickets this year. Moop will be even worse.

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  • Dizzy says:

    Maybe, just maybe, if EVERYONE who buys a ticket actually read the 10 principles BEFORE they purchase (mandated?) this wouldn’t be such an issue…. Maybe.

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  • Infored says:

    Moop sweep your camp area before you set up camp. I have been doing it for years. I find all kinds of interesting things: tent stakes, jewelry, money, tent chord tensioners, nails, things I put to use latter in the week, and cigarette butts. It starts our camp spot out with a clean slate, and it is a bit of a ritual if you will, like a way to open up our camp’s sacred space for the time we are out there.

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  • Pooh Bear says:

    The MOOP map always shows a concentration of MOOP in areas surrounding sound camps. That makes sense. The largest percentage of newbies who have yet to embrace the ten principles have probably come for the big rave they mistakenly think Burning Man is. To them it is just another music festival and at music festivals you throw your shit on the ground for others to pick up later. We need the performers in these camps to educate the festival kids. There should be a constant drumbeat (or basebeat in this case) explaining that this is our home and we care for it. They should explain that, if the MOOP situation doesn’t get better, these camps will not get placement and there won’t be a venue on playa for you to live out your raver dreams.

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  • Molotov says:

    I think I’m going to set up a camera and publicly shame those rascals that leave full piss jugs outside the portos, particularly at the end of the event.

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    • Blackjack says:

      Aside from MOOP, a big problem I’ve seen increase every year is people taking photos and videos without getting permission.

      It cuts both ways – while part of me would like photo evidence of people being shitty burners posted online after the burn, it’s equally important that the rest of us feel free to be naked, altered, or just express ourselves at the burn in ways we may not want photographed and shared online.

      I support public shaming via megaphone during the burn, though.

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      • Molotov says:

        Good point on the photography. I’ll think about using a photo if only the offender is depicted. They lost their right to privacy when they became a MOOP dumping asshole.

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  • Trilo Byte says:

    I do not doubt thawt MOOP is on the rise, but that statement is at odds with a MOOP map that has been steadily getting greener. Are these increases coming from locations in camp space, or art installations (which do not get included on the MOOP map)?

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