Poop is beginning to be a big problem at Burning Man, authorities say

BURNING MAN -- 08/28/05 -- BLACK ROCK DESERT, NV -- An day-long windstorm whips sand as fine as talcum powder at Burning Man as participants take evening bike rides and strolls on stilts. About 35,000 are camped out on the desert for the week-long party and arts festival, which ends Monday. -- DIGITAL IMAGE -- JIM RANKIN/THE TORONTO STAR (Photo by Jim Rankin/Toronto Star via Getty Images) less BURNING MAN -- 08/28/05 -- BLACK ROCK DESERT, NV -- An day-long windstorm whips sand as fine as talcum powder at Burning Man as participants take evening bike rides and strolls on stilts. About 35,000 are ... more Photo: Jim Rankin Photo: Jim Rankin Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Poop is beginning to be a big problem at Burning Man, authorities say 1 / 34 Back to Gallery

At Burning Man, an annual celebration of experimental art and counterculture in the dusty Nevada desert, experts are contending with the difficult — but necessary — question of human waste.

In a recent report, the Bureau of Land Management described the proliferation of attendees who have apparently forgotten — or cannot make it to — the festival's restrooms. This is especially a problem in the deep playa, an area far away from the center of the festival and from portable toilets, the Reno Gazette Journal first reported.

The government's proposal? Poop bags and pee bottles, either to be brought by participants or for staff members to hand out.

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The agency also suggested that mobile raves should be moved closer to portable potties and that the festival should display signs encouraging burners to use the bathroom around dance zones.

In accordance with the festival's "Leave No Trace" principle, staff members are obliged to rid the bathrooms of anything that isn't human waste or single-ply toilet paper, which has, in years past yielded a full roast chicken and a mattress, among others.

Interested in more of the unique rules particular to Black Rock City? Check them out in the slideshow above.

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Read Annie Vainshtein's latest stories here. Send her news tips at avainshtein@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @annievain