Recycle Camp

In 1997, a participant group started Recycle Camp in Black Rock City. This important function was formalized as a community service in 1998. In addition to providing awareness, education, and an important service of removing recyclable cans, Recycle Camp has donated hundreds of thousands of cans to the local high school to help fund student activities.

Each year they spend the week talking the LNT talk, doing education and outreach to everyone who comes by; and walking the LNT walk, collecting and crushing, stomping and bagging aluminum cans. In 2005 they recycled like mad men, filling over 250 burlap bags with crushed cans.

This resulted in Burning Man donating over 100,000 cans to the Gerlach High School at the close of the event - approximately 3,500 pounds of aluminum that fetched about $800 for the school.

The community is very proud of the effort they do to give back to the local community while at the same time being the voice for respecting, rethinking, reducing, reusing, and recycling in Black Rock City. By taking these cans back from the community, we all have extra space in our vehicles for the natural playa expansion of our stuff that seems to happen each year, and for that extra trash bag.

They need shift leaders to coordinate drop-in volunteers, first- and second-rate bicycle mechanics to keep the biker fleet running, Sign makers and decorators to decorate our lounge and make the camp for visible.

You can volunteer to help them at recycle(at)burningman(dot)com