Products & Techniques

Trash collection / storage

Products we tested & liked

Name & Purpose	Link
Bag Caddy This product is easy to stow, weighs very little and holds your bag open so people can easily throw stuff in!	FEED GARDEN Trash Bag Holder, Outdoor Metal Leaf Bag Holder Stand
39 Gallon Bags with Drawstring Those bags are strong and can be sealed shut with the drawstring	Amazon Basics Lawn & Leaf Drawstring Trash Bags, Unscented, 39 Gallon, 40 Count
Laminating Sheets These sheets will protect your paper signs from being torn, and you could even reuse the signs year over year!	Amazon Basics Thermal Laminating Sheets A4 Size
Can crusher If every drinker crushes their cans, they take up less space. You hang this thing next to your Aluminum collection bin and ask everybody in the camp to use it OR ELSE! 😅	McKay Heavy Duty Wall Mounted Aluminum Crusher

What bins do I need?

You will need bins (and signage) for the following trash categories:

Plastics that can be recycled
Plastics & Papers that can not be recycled
Aluminum based containers (typically drinks)
Non-Aluminum based containers (steel and other metals, typically tuna cans and other preserved foods)
Glass containers (lids are typically steel and should go to the Non-Aluminum bin!)
Cardboard & Paper that can be recycled
Batteries & Electronics & other toxic things

How do I get rid of stuff?

Compost: There is a compost camp! see below in the Organics / Compost section.

Aluminum cans: There is a recycling camp near the BMORG tent that will take your aluminum cans. If the cans are not crushed, they have a station where you can crush your cans before dumping them into this massive container (in 2023 I saw 3 such containers, and they were all nearly full!!!). It is clearly better if you have a can crusher in your camp because if every person who drinks something crushes their own can, it is less work for you, and you can also fit more cans in a bag, and also reduce the number of times you have to walk to the aluminum recycling camp.

All the rest: Unfortunately you have to take all the rest with you!

Organics / Composte

Black Rock City has at least one (but probably more!) camp that will take your compostables, as long as there are no plastic stickers on the fruits/vegetables, and as long as it's been dried. The products below will help you dry your compostables which will make it a lot easier to transport, and will of course make it smoother when you reach the compost camp (they can TELL when it looks perfect, and you'll be able to just drop it off and leave!).

https://www.ideate.camp/composting-signup

Name & Purpose	Link to product
Burlap Bags You put your compostables in this bag for transportation to compost camp. They will usually give you an empty bag in return (either your own, or another bag!). The nature of this fabric is that it allows the compost to continue drying while it awaits transportation.	Heavy Duty Reusable Burlap Bags
Drying Barrier You hang this using stakes in the ground, so it doesn't touch the ground. Ideally you also put some tarp underneath so that compostables don't drip/leak onto the Playa. You then put the compostables on top of this bag to try in the sun. Once they are dry, they take up less space, weigh less, and don't smell at all!	Eco friendly Disposable Planter Biodegradable Barrier