Prepare To Leave No Trace
There are things you can do in advance of your departure for Blazing Swan to start your LNT efforts off right and make LNT easier when you are on site:
Prepare BOTH a Leave No Trace plan AND a cleanup plan for your camp, so you can LNT as you go and have less to clean up and restore before you leave.
Remove all excess packaging from everything you buy (food, supplies, tools) before you pack it.
- Don’t bring glass containers of any kind — they can shatter. Metal bottles and plates work well.
- Smokers: make a portable ashtray (a mint tin, for instance) to collect your cigarette butts and ashes.
- Bring extra tarps to put under MOOP-heavy areas like your kitchen, construction areas and work spaces.
- Bring cardboard, a tarp, or pan to place under your vehicle’s oil pan to collect any drippings.
- Bring rope or tie-downs to secure everything in your camp, and to securely strap down your load on top of your vehicle.
- Pack some work gloves to help you pick up the sharp bits, and a magnet rake to help pick up metal.
- Leave anything at home (living or dead) that will break up and blow away in the wind. Plants are not allowed, as they die and make a mess — use artificial ones instead. Don’t bring loose glitter, feather boas, Astroturf, styrofoam coolers, plastic bags, sheets of paper, string, disposable drink cups, gravel—they can blow away in the wind or turn into MOOPy messes before you know it.
- Don’t bring large or public swimming pools or public showers. All that water creates a huge mess that needs to be cleaned up and poses public health issues.
- Learn how to make an evaporation device (see www.evapotrons.info for some great ideas) and properly dispose of your grey water.
Leave No Trace at Jilakin Rock City
- Never let it hit the ground and clean as you go. MOOP attracts more MOOP. When you see trash on the ground in BRC, pick it up and take it with you – you won’t see it later as layers of dust accumulate.
- Weight it down. Put a weight on or tie down anything that can blow away.
- Smokers: Carry a portable ashtray (such as a mint tin) with you at all times, or put butts in your pocket. NEVER, EVER drop butts on the ground or in public areas like porta-loos. Help keep cigarette butts from being one of the top MOOP items!
- If it wasn’t made by your body, don’t put it in the potty. No tampons, trash, cigarette butts, etc. One ply toilet paper ONLY.
- Bring tarps or drop cloths to place under construction areas, kitchens and other areas with small and potentially loose materials. Put weighted cardboard, a pan, or secured tarp under your vehicle to catch any fluids that may leak.
- Bring your own mug to camps serving coffee and tea. If you bring your own bottled or canned beverages, please take the drink containers back to your camp. There are no trash cans provided in JRC.
- Do not dump grey water onto the ground.
- If you have an RV be sure to bring a five gallon bucket to catch any grey or black water leaks from your plumbing.
- Make a MOOP bucket. Cut a 10cm hole in the top of an empty plastic water jug, leaving the handle intact, to use for collecting and containing MOOP. For dust that has glass, wood chips, bark or anything too small to pick up, sweep it into a dust pan and deposit in a bucket for disposal at home.
- Carry a MOOP bag. Wherever you go, carry a small bag to collect any MOOP you find. Some customise their MOOP bags to make them a part of their playa wear.
Rubbish & Recycling
Kulin Transfer Station: The Kulin Transfer Station is located on Truebody Street approximately 2km north-east from the Kulin Post Office (see the Kulin Town Map).
Hours : The Station is open Sunday, Monday & Thursdays from 10am – 3pm. It will also be open on Tuesday 10am – 3pm specifically to process refuse from Blazing Swan.
Accepted Waste Items: To ensure that your waste and recyclables are processed appropriately please keep waste separated into the below groups to avoid contamination and recyclables being deposited into the general waste bin.
Before You Leave Jilakin Rock City
- Line-sweep your camp. Walk shoulder-to-shoulder with your camp mates and clean your campsite in a grid pattern. Pick up EVERYTHING. Use a magnet bar or rake to go over your entire camp and conduct a final MOOP line-sweep to inspect your space.
- Community Clean-Up. You are asked to join your neighbors on Sunday and Monday after the burn for two hours of MOOPing Jilakin Rock City in addition to your own camp clean up—pick a well-traveled area.
- Sort your trash and recycling for easy disposal at home.
- Secure and cover your load! Pack carefully and make sure your trash and other items do not come loose on the ride home and litter our roads.
Burning Your Art
If you plan to burn your art, you must do so in a way that doesn’t leave burn scars on the playa floor. A burn scar is a discoloration of the surface soil caused by chemical changes in the minerals due to contact with fire.
On Your Way Home
- Leave No Trace does NOT end when you hit the pavement. DO NOT dump your trash ANYWHERE in neighbouring communities that is not a designated dumping spot.
- Stop periodically and check to make sure your vehicle’s load is secured and hasn’t loosened in the wind.
Digging Holes
Do not excavate holes in the playa larger than 15cm in diameter and 60cm deep for ANY purpose. Larger holes easily erode within a year’s time, even when carefully backfilled, leaving a visible mark and creating a serious safety hazard. When digging, it is best to use an auger or a posthole digger, NOT a shovel. Bag the dirt you are removing so that it doesn’t blow away in the wind. Refill the hole by carefully tamping the soil back into place (an inverted sledgehammer works well). Repeat this process every few inches while dampening the soil.