Camp
Contractor trash bags
Thick bags for moop, camp trash, and the final sweep.
A box is often $15–25
Opens in a new tab.Burning Man MOOP and leave no trace
Matter out of place includes glitter, zip-tie tails, ash, and the stake you meant to pull.
7 min read
Sits beside A bucket toilet for Burning Man/What not to bring to Burning Man/How to clean playa dust off gear/Departure kit for Burning Man
Shop the departure kit. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship a kit as one box.
The playa is a temporary city on a protected desert. When it ends, the standard is that a stranger should not be able to tell you were on that hex. MOOP, matter out of place, is the name for everything that fails that test. Feathers, sequins, glitter, cigarette butts, bottle caps, zip-tie offcuts, bits of tape, a tent stake, a crushed can the wind took Tuesday.
We are an independent outfitter. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Burning Man Project. The event name is used so you know which week this gear is for.
The sweep
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Read the note
The practical kit is dull on purpose. Thick contractor bags. A headlamp for a low-angle sweep, because dusk light shows what noon hides. Walk the hex in daylight and again with the lamp raked low. Side cutters so you pocket the tails when you snip a tie. Pull every stake. A piece left behind finds a tire. Vinegar and a rag for the bike and the car, so you are not depositing a white film on the highway and calling it clean.
Toilets
If camp has taken toilets on, use theirs and bring 1-ply. If they have not, the seat, the bags, and a lid are a whole page, and they come home. The portos take human waste and 1-ply. A roll in the basket, inside a bag, is the roll you will have. Wipes go in a zip bag until the contractor bag. Skipping this ruins your week and someone else's.
What should not have come
The easiest moop to remove is the thing you decided not to bring. Glitter, feathers, a fringe, and a costume that sheds when you dance stay home. Ash from a burn barrel is still matter out of place. So is the wood you thought the desert would take.
The seat and the bags are a bucket toilet for Burning Man. Once the hex is clean, how to clean playa dust off gear is the next job. The things that should never have been in the car are in what not to bring to Burning Man. If the bedroom was a car or an RV, RV and car camping at Burning Man is the page, and the city's dumping rules stay on their site. If camp has not taken toilets on, the gear is a bucket toilet.
Camp
Toilet waste bags
The bags the bucket actually uses. Bring more than the days.
A box of bags is often $20–40
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Camp
Zip-tie assortment
For lights, shade clips, and the repair you did not plan.
An assortment is often under $15
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Scott
Scott rapid-dissolving toilet paper
1-ply toilet paper, the paper the portos are built to take.
Often about $9
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Ziploc
Ziploc gallon freezer bags
Heavy gallon bags for clean socks, a drive-home outfit, and wipes that have to come out.
Often about $6
Opens in a new tab.Questions
- What does MOOP mean at Burning Man?
- Matter out of place. Anything a stranger could find on your hex after you leave: glitter, feathers, sequins, zip-tie tails, ash, a stake, a crushed can. The standard is that a stranger should not be able to tell you were on that hex.
- What is the easiest MOOP to deal with?
- The thing you decided not to bring. If it can blow away, it does not belong on a costume. The leave-at-home note is that list. This page is the sweep for what came anyway.
- Does a bucket toilet count as MOOP?
- It counts if you leave it. The seat, the bags, and the wipes come home. The toilet note is the system. The portos take human waste and 1-ply. Wipes come home even when the box says flushable.
Shop the kit
A kit is the shopping list for one job. Each piece is its own listing. We don't ship it as one box.
