Leave No Trace
Burnin' Down The River is a camping event, so you are bound to create some garbage. We are all about
self-reliance in all its forms including cleaning up after yourself. This ethic is called Leave No Trace (LNT).
There will be no public garbage containers or dumpsters provided, so you must Leave No Trace by bringing
trash bags for yourself or your group, and then taking them with you when you leave.
- YOU are responsible for ensuring that this event ends without a trace. Please chip in on the community work by picking up any trash that you encounter during the event regardless of whether it came from you. Also, spend at least 30 minutes after you tear down your personal camp to comb your camp location and the surrounding common areas for tiny bits of MOOP (Matter Out Of Place). You don't want to be known as "The MOOPy campers!"
- PLAN. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES put your trash bags in the neighbors' trash on your way home. We are guests in this area and want to maintain a good relationship with the neighbors. Dumping your trash in the neighborhood is very unfriendly and can endanger the existence of the event.
- PREPARE. Plan your packing with trash hauling in mind. Make sure you have room for your trash. Consider using 5 gallon buckets with lids for carrying stinky wet trash in cars. You don't want to end your experience figuring out how two bulging stinky trash bags can be squeezed into a packed-to-the-roof car for a 5 hour trip.
- REDUCE. Buy in bulk to reduce packaging and your expenses. Strip your gear and food of all unnecessary excess packaging BEFORE coming to Burnin' On The River, to reduce your trash load. Burn non-toxic and paper trash.
- REUSE. Reusable cups, personal water bottles/canteens, camel-baks, and large refillable water containers are much easier on the environment and your trash load than disposable cups and plastic water bottles. If you're gifting alcohol, consider making people be self-sufficient and bring their own cups or make nice Burnin' Down The River gift cups that people won't want to throw away. The same goes for reusable dinnerware vs. disposable dinnerware. If you must use disposable dishes, use paper products that you can burn.
- RECYCLE. If you do need to bring disposable items, make sure they are recyclable so you can recycle them back in your hometown.
Clean up your camp throughout the event, so there's not a huge mess to clean up when you're tired and want
to go home. Make yourself the Earth Guardian for your camp and lead your campmates in camp LNT efforts.
Use tarps and large pieces of carpet or rug as ground cover in common areas of your theme camp. Roll it up
carefully afterward to catch all of the tiny MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) in one fell swoop.
Did you know that drink containers, bottle caps, and cigarette butts are the most common MOOP found? Bring portable
containers to put your butts in, like empty prescription bottles, Altoid tins, or in an emergency, empty beer cans.
LNT Team
After most folks are packed up and do their own campsite sweep, hardcore volunteers sweep the grounds for
elusive MOOP (Matter Out Of Place). The LNT Team meets Sunday, July 26, at 2:00 PM
for general de-MOOPification of the campsite (aka scour the grounds for trash). While we always accept volunteers
onsite, it helps with the planning if you sign-up beforehand.
To sign up for the LNT Team, please visit the Volunteer page.
Questions About Burnin' Down The River?
Contact the BDTR The Event Planners.