Jennifer Kane

Reno Gazette Journal

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that, although Burning Man failed to meet Leave No Trace standards at certain inspection sites, the organization passed its BLM cleanup inspection in 2018.

The Burning Man organization passed its Leave No Trace inspection in 2018, despite excess litter and debris in certain areas.

The organization left an average of .77 square feet per acre of debris and litter among a number of randomly selected inspection areas, according to Bureau of Land Management Black Rock Field Office Manager Mark Hall who responded this week to the Reno Gazette Journal in an email.

The BLM averaged the amount of litter left behind between 120 randomly selected locations, Hall said. Burning Man organizers pass the inspection as long as they leave less than 1 square foot of debris to an acre after the event.

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The BLM does not include six highly trafficked “points of interest” – the Man base and Temple area included – in the inspection results. The site of the Man, for instance, had nearly seven times more debris than is allowed by contract with the BLM, according to BLM Winnemucca office spokesperson Fernando Pitones in December.

An aircraft-turned-nightclub that was initially stranded on the playa and since moved to private property also did not count toward the inspection.

Usually, about a half-dozen BLM officials, with the help of about five dozen Burning Man staff and volunteers, conduct the inspection, according to past post-inspection reports. The results of the 2018 post-event inspection have not been released by the BLM, nor by Burning Man, to date since it is still a working document, according to Hall.

"Weather permitting, the Burning Man organization is expected to come back to the site (in spring). Burning Man has not contacted the BLM to make any arrangements so far," Pitones said in Decemeber.

Burning Man organizers did not respond to questions about the inspection in December, but later issued a statement noting that the organization passed the inspection.

Burners often are proud of their "leave no trace" habits, touting the event as the largest "leave no trace" event in the world. Burners even have a slang term for litter, MOOP, an acronym for "matter out of place."

Each year after the event, Burning Man participants are expected to clean up after themselves, though a staff and volunteer team known as the "Resto" crew is tasked with cleaning up any remaining litter for about two weeks after the conclusion of the event. They create a color-coded map of Black Rock City, the given name to the pop-up city in the desert, and indicate where the most litter was found.

The most common MOOP is often pieces of wood, though they often find cigarette butts, paper, plastic and metal. Certain items -- such as feathers -- are discouraged at the event because they so easily can fly away during the frequent dust storms.

Crews also are responsible for collecting items such as tents, bikes and couches abandoned by attendees.

"The playa is a site that everybody likes to enjoy. We want to keep it that way," Pitones said.

The 2019 event is scheduled for Aug. 25 to Sept. 2.