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Thursday, November 13, 2025
Documentary shows Burning Man's "Leave No Trace" leaves a lot of trash all over the place
Boing Boing: Rather than being seen as a drug-fueled party for those with disposable income, Burning Man promotes its "radical self-reliance," inclusion, and a pledge to "leave no trace" on the dry lake bed it calls home. Locals are tired of the mountains of garbage dumped in their local parking lots, and left on "the playa."
14 comments:
Max A
said...
Every year I see videos of people coming online and talking about Burning Man. But it’s not in the “wow look at all this cool art I saw” way. In fact, I’ve never actually seen anyone talk about how cool the experience is and whether or not it’s worth it to go. Instead, what I see every year without fail is people complaining about the weather, about the food, about the traffic, about the people. To me it feels like these people with disposable money just go to Burning Man to complain about it. To be honest, something like Burning Man sounds really intriguing and interesting to me. I actually think that the art there would be amazing. But I almost think that the cost prohibitiveness stops people who would actually appreciate it from going. With less appreciation, people are less likely to respect the space around them.
Literally when “leave no trace” leaves so much trace. This is kind of an example of how words do not represent the impacts of actions. Instead of just saying that they are environmentally friendly, Burning Man should be creating activities during the festival that focus on the environment around them and hiring clean up crews. Obviously it is odd that the attendees are not picking up their trash, and might even reflect on the type of people that Burning Man attracts, but it falls on the event organizers to ensure that they are keeping the area clean. Especially when the surrounding community is left to deal with the aftermath of these huge festivals, something needs to change. When planning a festival, clean up should be just as much a topic of discussion as organization. It is one of those things that might not be on the top of everyone’s mind, but especially after running Burning Man so many times, this should be considered.
I wish I could say I was surprised by this but I am definitely not. I think burning man is cool in theory, I mean run away from all your problems and hide in the desert for a couple of days is something I could 100% get behind. But also people who have a couple grand to drop on a festival might not be the most considerate. I feel like I run into a very similar problem when it comes to my own experiences promoting wilderness activities. Like someone who considers myself an avid and passionate outdoor enthusiast, all I want to do is show other people how amazing nature is. The problem I think is that not everyone (or even most people) will have the awareness and willingness to follow leave no trace principles. I think as humans we have been raised to feel entitled to the resources produced by nature and we see this in this documentary.
What surprises most about promises like these are that when they are left unfulfilled, it is incredibly obvious the failures that have taken place and that there is little care to ensure commitments are upheld by those that so ardently support them. While the strike and cleanup of any festival is surely a massive undertaking, if you are to support doing so, it is a clear responsibility to maintain that promise, especially when this festival will negatively impact its surrounding community the entire year when the festival is not happening (although there is likely other positive impacts as well). What I wonder about more is that if those who attend the festival found out about this and if they think differently about their participation or hopes to attend in the future, or more generally if this will negatively impact the public relations of this festival going into the future. Further, from a sustainability point, how do they build everything to leave no trace? Much to explore with this documentary.
I’ve never personally heard anything good about Burning Man. I’ve heard it’s a drug party. It’s a set things on fire party. It’s a dying art and drug assembly party. From this I would’ve never assumed they’d declare themselves a “leave no trace” event. The fact they did is hilarious and the fact it isn’t true is expected. Events that generate garbage in places of nature need to go and I don’t understand the value of continuing Burning Man if it doesn’t rebrand itself and actually clean up its act. Leaving trash behind when you have the easy option to take it with you to dispose of is like the express way to letting people know you’re like the worst type of person ever. They’re like the people who don’t put their shopping cart back to the rack or at least to an accessible, safe location it’s meant to be on. Like just be good and do the bare minimum.
I have a special kind of hatred for Burning Man. Burning Man is a rich person’s wet dream. It’s a place where, if you spend enough money, you can pretend like you’ve gained some sort of subtle greater-than-thou consciousness, and bring it back to your friends at home to show your superiority. Every year, I hate watch TikToks about the festival, and I always think back to the year it rained and everyone's "playa" turned into a mud swamp. Can you imagine, being very high off multiple hallucinogens in the middle of the desert, and you come to and your tent or van or mobile home has sunk a foot into the ground? The rave culture and elitism bull crap going on there makes even more sense that these people aren't following the "leave no trace" rules. This needs to be thought about before next Burning Man, but mark my words, it won't.
This is why people need to learn to clean up after themselves at a young age or get punished by their parents for making a mess. This is why we have such bad pollution issues and going to end up doing a live action remake of Wall-E. People don’t give a fuck about our planet as long as they are entertained, they do not think forward of “hmmm what will happen if I just leave all my trash here? Certainly someone will take a trip out here to clean it even tho the concert ended!” It’s incredibly dumb and disrespectful to everyone for those who do it, but I also partly blame burning man for not enforcing it nor supplying more dumpsters for those who are at burning man to get rid of their trash at the end of the time there. I hope this is an eye opener for those who go to burning man and will start getting rid of trash and encouraging others to.
Burning man has always disgusted me. It takes such an insane amount of privilege to willingly deprive yourself of clean air, food, and comfortable living just to do drugs and rave in the middle of nowhere. These are things you can do on the average weekend or during a music festival in most cities. You would also think burningman would have a good artist line up, but there's a reason huge artists or big names in the underground edm scene dont go. Because it is completely performative and hypocritical to its notion of being anti consumerist, or “antisociety”. It doesn't prioritize art, and it doesn't prioritize ethics which makes it a soulless shell of an event that people go to so they can say that they did. The amount of waste that occurs there is disturbing, as well as the amount of people that get hurt from lack of food or medics, considering that this is something that people pay for.
It's really interesting to look at how Burning Man became everything it once stood against. I remember watching a video from last year's burning man, where they talk about how they give extremely preferential treatment to the rich and/or famous, but that everyone else has to wait just to get in there for hours on end to park in dirt, not shower for a couple days, and pay outrageous fees for basic supplies like food. To be fair, understand that there is a lot more to what Burning Man means to people, but I do think that a lot of the festival's original spirit has been stripped away from its meaning and intentions. Leave No Trace is just another example of that. You can see it in the way that influencers now wear sequined fits full of plastic that’s begging to be shed out in the desert to Burning Man.
Festivals like Burning Man seem like a good idea in concept to me but in reality they are just not a good idea for so many reasons. People who go to these festivals tend to not care about the environment as much as they say they do and always leave so much trash around. The video opening with evidence of all the trash including a pee pad covered in poop is absolutely disgusting. The fact that the staff at the venue did not want the documentarians to be there and were attempting to stop them from filming and showing what actually happened/got left behind. I hate when people try to stop people from showing the reality of what is happening. If you do not want people to find out about what you did, then do not do the thing. I will say the fact that Burning Man’s plan was to have festival goers bring home their trash instead of providing a lot of trash cans and dumpsters. If they are not going to provide those things then they should pick up the trash left like they say they do instead of just saying they do and leaving it on the highway for the locals to take care of.
I have heard of burning man before, and I have liked the message that it is sending when it comes to self reliance. In truth though I was always doubtful of wheatear or not the event actually ended up leaving no trace. I have seen images and other short clips from burring man and I couldn't not convince myself that all of the people there would commit to picking up each and every piece of trash. It is very disappointing to hear that people that go to the event want to seem like they are cleaning up by picking up the trash off of the playa and then just dumping them onto nearby parking lots. That is extremely disappointing, but honestly not surprising. It is surprising how many people simply want to look like they are doing good without actually committing to being a good person and actually cleaning up trash.
From what I have seen on instagram and Tiktok, Burning Man feels overhyped. All people do when they are there is complain about the sand or the traffic or the food, and that is all I see. I do think it is probably a cool experience but I don’t really see a whole lot of that online. To be honest I am not surprised in the slightest that Burning Man results in a lot of debris and trash left at the site. They say they are environmentally friendly but from what it seems like they are definitely not, especially from the way the people that go to this live on the site. For how long Burning Man has been around I am actually surprised they still have yet to figure out a good clean up system or even hire clean up crews. All this festival seems to be is just an excuse to light things on fire and do drugs anyway.
I think about this often with big music festivals that are outside. I have never really understood the logistics of these massive outdoor music festivals that show up and then disappear. It seems like so much work for such a short period of time and I didn’t even think about all the waste. It does make me sad to see this documentary but I cannot say I am surprised. I think we always run into issues when we have these massive events with people that are not always there for the right reasons. Of course the organizers want it to look clean and good but I think it is important to reveal what is actually happening. I just watched the first couple minutes of the documentary and I will watch the entire thing when I have more time. It seems to be well done and while I hope it doesn’t shut burning man down I hope it forces people to stop and think although unfortunately I do not have a lot of hope.
14 comments:
Every year I see videos of people coming online and talking about Burning Man. But it’s not in the “wow look at all this cool art I saw” way. In fact, I’ve never actually seen anyone talk about how cool the experience is and whether or not it’s worth it to go. Instead, what I see every year without fail is people complaining about the weather, about the food, about the traffic, about the people. To me it feels like these people with disposable money just go to Burning Man to complain about it. To be honest, something like Burning Man sounds really intriguing and interesting to me. I actually think that the art there would be amazing. But I almost think that the cost prohibitiveness stops people who would actually appreciate it from going. With less appreciation, people are less likely to respect the space around them.
Literally when “leave no trace” leaves so much trace. This is kind of an example of how words do not represent the impacts of actions. Instead of just saying that they are environmentally friendly, Burning Man should be creating activities during the festival that focus on the environment around them and hiring clean up crews. Obviously it is odd that the attendees are not picking up their trash, and might even reflect on the type of people that Burning Man attracts, but it falls on the event organizers to ensure that they are keeping the area clean. Especially when the surrounding community is left to deal with the aftermath of these huge festivals, something needs to change. When planning a festival, clean up should be just as much a topic of discussion as organization. It is one of those things that might not be on the top of everyone’s mind, but especially after running Burning Man so many times, this should be considered.
I wish I could say I was surprised by this but I am definitely not. I think burning man is cool in theory, I mean run away from all your problems and hide in the desert for a couple of days is something I could 100% get behind. But also people who have a couple grand to drop on a festival might not be the most considerate. I feel like I run into a very similar problem when it comes to my own experiences promoting wilderness activities. Like someone who considers myself an avid and passionate outdoor enthusiast, all I want to do is show other people how amazing nature is. The problem I think is that not everyone (or even most people) will have the awareness and willingness to follow leave no trace principles. I think as humans we have been raised to feel entitled to the resources produced by nature and we see this in this documentary.
What surprises most about promises like these are that when they are left unfulfilled, it is incredibly obvious the failures that have taken place and that there is little care to ensure commitments are upheld by those that so ardently support them. While the strike and cleanup of any festival is surely a massive undertaking, if you are to support doing so, it is a clear responsibility to maintain that promise, especially when this festival will negatively impact its surrounding community the entire year when the festival is not happening (although there is likely other positive impacts as well). What I wonder about more is that if those who attend the festival found out about this and if they think differently about their participation or hopes to attend in the future, or more generally if this will negatively impact the public relations of this festival going into the future. Further, from a sustainability point, how do they build everything to leave no trace? Much to explore with this documentary.
I’ve never personally heard anything good about Burning Man. I’ve heard it’s a drug party. It’s a set things on fire party. It’s a dying art and drug assembly party. From this I would’ve never assumed they’d declare themselves a “leave no trace” event. The fact they did is hilarious and the fact it isn’t true is expected. Events that generate garbage in places of nature need to go and I don’t understand the value of continuing Burning Man if it doesn’t rebrand itself and actually clean up its act. Leaving trash behind when you have the easy option to take it with you to dispose of is like the express way to letting people know you’re like the worst type of person ever. They’re like the people who don’t put their shopping cart back to the rack or at least to an accessible, safe location it’s meant to be on. Like just be good and do the bare minimum.
I have a special kind of hatred for Burning Man. Burning Man is a rich person’s wet dream. It’s a place where, if you spend enough money, you can pretend like you’ve gained some sort of subtle greater-than-thou consciousness, and bring it back to your friends at home to show your superiority. Every year, I hate watch TikToks about the festival, and I always think back to the year it rained and everyone's "playa" turned into a mud swamp. Can you imagine, being very high off multiple hallucinogens in the middle of the desert, and you come to and your tent or van or mobile home has sunk a foot into the ground? The rave culture and elitism bull crap going on there makes even more sense that these people aren't following the "leave no trace" rules. This needs to be thought about before next Burning Man, but mark my words, it won't.
- Jess
This is why people need to learn to clean up after themselves at a young age or get punished by their parents for making a mess. This is why we have such bad pollution issues and going to end up doing a live action remake of Wall-E. People don’t give a fuck about our planet as long as they are entertained, they do not think forward of “hmmm what will happen if I just leave all my trash here? Certainly someone will take a trip out here to clean it even tho the concert ended!” It’s incredibly dumb and disrespectful to everyone for those who do it, but I also partly blame burning man for not enforcing it nor supplying more dumpsters for those who are at burning man to get rid of their trash at the end of the time there. I hope this is an eye opener for those who go to burning man and will start getting rid of trash and encouraging others to.
Burning man has always disgusted me. It takes such an insane amount of privilege to willingly deprive yourself of clean air, food, and comfortable living just to do drugs and rave in the middle of nowhere. These are things you can do on the average weekend or during a music festival in most cities. You would also think burningman would have a good artist line up, but there's a reason huge artists or big names in the underground edm scene dont go. Because it is completely performative and hypocritical to its notion of being anti consumerist, or “antisociety”. It doesn't prioritize art, and it doesn't prioritize ethics which makes it a soulless shell of an event that people go to so they can say that they did. The amount of waste that occurs there is disturbing, as well as the amount of people that get hurt from lack of food or medics, considering that this is something that people pay for.
It's really interesting to look at how Burning Man became everything it once stood against. I remember watching a video from last year's burning man, where they talk about how they give extremely preferential treatment to the rich and/or famous, but that everyone else has to wait just to get in there for hours on end to park in dirt, not shower for a couple days, and pay outrageous fees for basic supplies like food. To be fair, understand that there is a lot more to what Burning Man means to people, but I do think that a lot of the festival's original spirit has been stripped away from its meaning and intentions. Leave No Trace is just another example of that. You can see it in the way that influencers now wear sequined fits full of plastic that’s begging to be shed out in the desert to Burning Man.
Festivals like Burning Man seem like a good idea in concept to me but in reality they are just not a good idea for so many reasons. People who go to these festivals tend to not care about the environment as much as they say they do and always leave so much trash around. The video opening with evidence of all the trash including a pee pad covered in poop is absolutely disgusting. The fact that the staff at the venue did not want the documentarians to be there and were attempting to stop them from filming and showing what actually happened/got left behind. I hate when people try to stop people from showing the reality of what is happening. If you do not want people to find out about what you did, then do not do the thing. I will say the fact that Burning Man’s plan was to have festival goers bring home their trash instead of providing a lot of trash cans and dumpsters. If they are not going to provide those things then they should pick up the trash left like they say they do instead of just saying they do and leaving it on the highway for the locals to take care of.
I have heard of burning man before, and I have liked the message that it is sending when it comes to self reliance. In truth though I was always doubtful of wheatear or not the event actually ended up leaving no trace. I have seen images and other short clips from burring man and I couldn't not convince myself that all of the people there would commit to picking up each and every piece of trash. It is very disappointing to hear that people that go to the event want to seem like they are cleaning up by picking up the trash off of the playa and then just dumping them onto nearby parking lots. That is extremely disappointing, but honestly not surprising. It is surprising how many people simply want to look like they are doing good without actually committing to being a good person and actually cleaning up trash.
From what I have seen on instagram and Tiktok, Burning Man feels overhyped. All people do when they are there is complain about the sand or the traffic or the food, and that is all I see. I do think it is probably a cool experience but I don’t really see a whole lot of that online. To be honest I am not surprised in the slightest that Burning Man results in a lot of debris and trash left at the site. They say they are environmentally friendly but from what it seems like they are definitely not, especially from the way the people that go to this live on the site. For how long Burning Man has been around I am actually surprised they still have yet to figure out a good clean up system or even hire clean up crews. All this festival seems to be is just an excuse to light things on fire and do drugs anyway.
I think about this often with big music festivals that are outside. I have never really understood the logistics of these massive outdoor music festivals that show up and then disappear. It seems like so much work for such a short period of time and I didn’t even think about all the waste. It does make me sad to see this documentary but I cannot say I am surprised. I think we always run into issues when we have these massive events with people that are not always there for the right reasons. Of course the organizers want it to look clean and good but I think it is important to reveal what is actually happening. I just watched the first couple minutes of the documentary and I will watch the entire thing when I have more time. It seems to be well done and while I hope it doesn’t shut burning man down I hope it forces people to stop and think although unfortunately I do not have a lot of hope.
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