Featured Image Credit: Matthew Bellemare
Meet Mr. Trash Wheel, Baltimore’s most helpful citizen, and the world’s first permanent water wheel trash interceptor.
Mr. Trash Wheel is a water wheel that sits at the mouth of the Jones Fall River in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and removes massive amounts of garbage from the water. The wheel relies on the river’s current to operate, and it is able to lift garbage, debris and plastic into an attached dumpster.
After Mr. Trash Wheel has done his job, the garbage is then sent to an incinerator, which generates power for some homes in Maryland. When Mr. Trash Wheel doesn’t receive enough power to operate from the water current, a solar panel that is attached to the water wheel steps in and provides additional power.
Since its inception in May 2014, Mr. Trash has removed over one million pounds of trash from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Among that trash includes 8.9 million ciggarette butts, half a million potato chip bags, bottles and more. It has the capability to collect 50,000 pounds of trash per day.
Currently, Mr. Trash Wheels makers are currently fundraising for a second wheel, Professor Trash Wheel.