Single-use bags can be taken to supermarkets in California for recycling, so we are collecting them. Mandel praised a young woman scraping scrambled eggs out of a frying pan, and then recited some recycling basics: вЂњYou canвЂ™t compost paper with too much printing on it, or recycle greasy paper. Mandel called out a hearty, вЂњYarg!вЂќ their preferred Pirate cheer. To attendees who had dutifully separated their food scraps and recyclables and were tipping them into the appropriate bins, Mx. Mandel performed trash collections, dancing with colleagues as Oscar warbled under a festive tent with gaily painted bins, and sorting garbage (earning $5 a bag) for those campers too busy or negligent to do it themselves. We teach them that thereвЂ™s no вЂaway.вЂ™ We are the shepherds of the вЂawayвЂ™ and it's being buried inside the earth forever.вЂќДЄnd so Mx. We are trying to alter the cultural norms of a throwaway society. Mandel said: вЂњItвЂ™s very important for people to see the work we do and understand the human scope of it. Veterans of Burning Man and other festivals learn acronyms like MOOP, for вЂњMatter Out of Place,вЂќ an umbrella term for trash and anything else that doesnвЂ™t occur naturally on a site cigarette butts, broken tents and human waste are some common examples.Д«urning Man has a вЂњLeave No TraceвЂќ ethos, but the messy camps of bad Burners are called out each year on the festivalвЂ™s MOOP Map in the hope that public shaming will be a deterrent next time around.ДЄs Oscar the Grouch sang his gruff-voiced hymn вЂњI Love Trash,вЂќ one of many trash-friendly songs on the PiratesвЂ™ playlist, Mx.

In 2017, CoachellaвЂ™s diversion rate was just 20 percent, apparently because attendees werenвЂ™t using the recycling bins. Last spring, the Trash Pirates brought the Joshua Tree Music FestivalвЂ™s rate up to 77 percent. High вЂњdiversionвЂќ rates (the percentage of waste not sent to the landfill) are badges of honor. Many events are now committed to becoming zero-waste endeavors, or as close to it as possible. In 2017, according to an environmental impact report, Coachella, in Indio, Calif., was generating over 100 tons of trash each day. The events themselves - both community-minded and escapist - are morphing into trash camps: days-long immersions into the politics of waste, with lectures and workshops on developing your garbage-handling skills along with your yoga practice.

Pick up trash without bending over