Welcome back, all you MOOP maniacs and line sweepers extraordinaire, to the second day of our thrilling live coverage of MOOP Map 2012!

If you’re just tuning in: Day One was a perfect day and the Playa Restoration team is off to a record-breaking start. But where yesterday we were covering the back blocks of Black Rock City, today the team tackled a bigger challenge: Esplanade, the epicenter of Burning Man’s multifarious madness. In years past, Esplanade has seen some of the worst scores — and some of the best, too.

How much MOOP was left on the Esplanade this year? How did those big EDM camps score? Was Day Two another win for our Playa Restoration home team? We’re about to find out.

Before we unveil the results from Day Two, let’s talk a little about:

How To Moop.

MOOP, noun – Matter Out Of Place; especially as it applies to Black Rock City and its Citizens. Can be anything: cigarette butts, bottle caps, glowsticks, fireworks, but is often disguised as debris, i.e., broken bits of wood, plastic, metal, glass and plants. Can also be a condition: burn scars, grey water, dunes, etc.

moop, verb – to pick up Matter Out Of Place.

This is a MOOP bucket. Cut-open water jugs work perfectly, but you can use any container you wish. Each person arms themself with one of these (the bucket, not the girl) as well as a MOOP stick and a set of vise grips or a multitool for pulling up rebar and tent stakes.

You can do this too! Get your own MOOP receptacle, gather up your campmates and line up at the edge of your camp, about arm’s length apart.

And then, you walk. The speed is a slow trudge, a zombie shuffle, each pair of eyes scanning the ground for anything that doesn’t belong. If you see it, you pick it up. If there’s a lot of something — say, a scattering of wood chips or a broken-up bike light — you get down on hands and knees and make every last splinter disappear.

That’s all there is to it. When you’ve mooped an area, all that should be left is dust, the occasional black rock and the happy ghosts of Burning Men past.

Day 2 Results

And now, without further ado, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Our Playa Restoration moopers scoured the Esplanade and the ultra-crowded block behind it (Alyssum to Begonia), expecting the best but prepared for the worst. And here’s what they found!

MOOP Map Legend GREEN: GO! GO! GO! The Line Sweep moves quickly because it’s clean. Minimal time and effort spent in this location.

YELLOW: Caution! The Line Sweep moves at a stop-and-go pace. Moderate time and effort spent in this location.

RED: Full stop. The Line Sweepers are on their hands and knees. A ton of MOOP. Extensive time and effort in this location.

Not bad, not bad. Especially considering the amount of traffic in those blocks. Let’s all stop and appreciate all those Esplanade and Keyhole camps who left their zones spotless, even after a week of entertaining thousands of guests!

I’d also like to give an Honorable Mention to Playa Skool, who really stepped it up this year. In 2011, they scored red on the MOOP Map. In 2012, they’re mostly green. Playa Skool, can any of you stop in and talk about your MOOP strategy this year? Any ideas to keep improving next year?

Unfortunately, some of the MOOPier areas weren’t the front-line theme camps, but their neighbors between Alyssum and Begonia. We’re looking at you, 8:30 to 10:00. How can you improve your neighborhood next year? Somebody who lived there, what do you think you can do to educate your friends and neighbors?

All in all, it’s better than we expected, and yes, there’s room to improve. We’re going to talk about some ideas for MOOP prevention in the days to come, so stay tuned to this frequency!

For now, this is The Hun signing off.

Photos by Vertumnus!