Apogaea, the regional burn in Trinidad, CO, follows Burning Man’s Leave No Trace principle, ensuring the event site remains pristine. Participants are responsible for managing Matter Out of Place (MOOP), securing their loads during transport, and properly disposing of waste. Key practices include line sweeps, pack-it-in, pack-it-out trash policies, and minimizing environmental impact through responsible construction, burning, and recycling.
Apogaea also tracks post-event cleanup through a MOOP Map, helping camps improve their efforts each year. With a strong community commitment, Apogaea continues to enhance its sustainability and uphold the Leave No Trace ethos in Colorado’s beautiful wilderness.
5 SMALL ACTS TO LEAVE NO TRACE
UN Package ALL THE THINGS
As you are preparing and packing, be mindful of what you bring. Open items before you pack and leave the packaging at home. Unpackage your items at home and leave all the packages and boxes and bags and twist ties and rubber bands and…you get it…behind, instead of creating a MOOP hassle as soon as you arrive and want to set up.
FU*K Your Feather Boa
Check that nothing you’re bringing will fall off and leave traces on the ground or blow away. Sequins, feathers, and glitter (yes, even if the glitter is bio-degradable) are prime examples of things that tend to fall off. There shouldn’t be a trail of MOOP behind you. If you have something that has any chance of creating MOOP, put it through its paces. Shake it, pull at it, make sure it’s solid or leave it at home.
Mind YO’ Mess
Clean as you go. Messes often gets worse over time. It’s usually easier to clean up smaller messes now Avoid messy meals and activities and properly dispose of dishwashing water, food scraps, cig butts, etc. Just because something is biodegradable doesn’t mean it should be left there! Last Apo, I was finding food garbage all over, that people clearly left thinking it was ok. DON’T DO THAT
DON’T BE a PORTO Idiot
Anything that comes out of your body should go into a Porto, unless you have your own toilet. Portable toilets are for human waste and single ply toilet paper ONLY! No baby wipes, feminine hygiene products are to go into the porta potties ever! If it wasn’t in your body, don’t put it in the potty! Generally, the areas in and around the portos tend to be the worst.
DO Final MOOP Sweep
As you’re packed up and before you leave you should do a final MOOP sweep of your area to make sure it’s as good as you found it. That may be from your own MOOP, or something that blew over from another area. We suggest you spend 10-15 minutes each day walking around your camping area and picking up any MOOP you find. It’s called MOOP-ing and all the cool kids are doing it. It’s also requested that all Participants spend 1-2 hours picking up MOOP after they have cleaned up their camp and prior to departure (Exodus) from the event.