- Burning Man attendees have gained notoriety for irresponsibly discarding trash and supplies in nearby towns as they make their way home.
- Despite the festival’s “leave no trace” philosophy and explicit warnings to limit waste, this behavior persists.
- Given the current circumstances with 70,000 trapped attendees and many resorting to hiking as a means of escape, the litter issue this year may be even more significant.
The Burning Man festival, with its current attendance of 70,000 individuals under a shelter-in-place order due to extreme weather conditions, proudly promotes its “leave no trace” principle.
This principle entails that attendees are responsible for removing all their trash and belongings, as the festival does not provide trash cans.
Nevertheless, in recent years, local residents have voiced complaints about litter left behind by festival-goers, both within the festival grounds and in nearby towns as they depart.
This year, the situation may worsen due to individuals defying the shelter-in-place order and embarking on six-mile hikes to leave the festival grounds. This could result in abandoned vehicles, personal belongings, and a potential increase in discarded waste.
Furthermore, when all the attendees are eventually allowed to leave, the impact on nearby cities is uncertain, as tens of thousands of festival-goers rush out simultaneously.
Last year’s festival drew a crowd of 80,000 to Black Rock City, Nevada, a temporary city created exclusively for this annual event. As reported by local outlet SF Gate, this influx of people also led to considerable amounts of trash ending up in the Reno and Lake Tahoe areas.
Mark Lowenstern, a California business owner, shared his experience with individuals dumping trash, food, and tents at his facility, stating, “The most egregious ones are late at night, with people unloading everything you can think of. The ones at night know what they’re doing isn’t right; they treat my business like a public dump,” according to SF Gate.
In 2019, an official from Nevada Waste Management revealed that many businesses in the area had dealt with unauthorized dumping by festival-goers.
Kendra Kostelecky, speaking to local outlet KUNR, mentioned that most businesses they work with have encountered this issue before, often resorting to ordering additional dumpsters to accommodate the influx of waste at their properties.
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