Mr. Trash Wheel: A water wheel that gobbles trash

CAIRO – 15 May 2017: Meet Mr. Trash Wheel, a googly-eyed, trash-gathering, giant water wheel that has been keeping Baltimore’s Inner Harbor clean since 2014.

Mr. Trash Wheel – Courtesy of Baltimore Water Front

The apprehension that touched Daniel Chase and John Kellett, creators of Mr. Trash Wheel, when they saw the historic seaport seriously losing its glare to the city’s refuse, contributed significantly to the initiation of the machine’s idea.

Mr. Trash Wheel is powered by the current of Jones Falls; it turns the wheel that operates a conveyor belt, lifting rubbish and debris from the water and depositing it into the dumpster barge.

Mr. Trash Wheel – Courtesy of Baltimore Water Front

When the current is slow or unable to operate the machine, a solar panel array provides additional power to keep the machine running.

When the dumpster is full, a boat tows it away to be replaced by a new one; the gathered trash is then sent to be incinerated to generate electricity.

Mr. Trash Wheel – Courtesy of Baltimore Water Front

“I used to walk across this bridge everyday and I would see the trash coming down the river and I would hear the tourists say this harbor is disgusting,” Kellet told NBC News in an interview. “I thought about it every day on my way to work and this is the idea I came up with,” he added.

Mr. Trash Wheel – Courtesy of Baltimore Water Front

In April, Mr. Trash Wheel, built by Clearwater Mills, was able to collect around 1.1 million pounds of trash and debris from the Baltimore Harbor; the rubbish included at least 8.9 million cigarette butts.

The company introduced their second trash wheel, namely Prof. Trash Wheel, in December 2016. A

fundraising

campaign by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore is currently in progress, maybe for another wheel, perhaps.

Mr. Trash Wheel – Courtesy of Baltimore Water Front

The Waterfront Partnership is a non-profit organization; it supervises the Waterfront Management Authority, which is a business improvement district dedicated to improved maintenance, beautification, and visitor services for Baltimore’s signature assets.

You can watch Mr. Trash Wheel’s in live action by clicking

here