Baltimore's Inner Harbor used to be filled with all kinds of junk. But in the spring of 2014, the city did something about it. Amazingly simple in its design, a cleaning device known as the Inner Harbor Water Wheel now filters out tons of gunk every year. Nicknamed "Mr. Trash Wheel" by Baltimore residents, the barge-like installation picks up everything that floats into the harbor from the Jones Falls.
Spearheaded by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, the wheel removed more than 350 tons of garbage in its first 18 months of operation. A continuously turning wheel, powered by a self-contained system of solar panels, picks up unsightly flotsam and places it into a large bin, which can be towed away for easy disposal.
Cleaning up Baltimore's Inner Harbor:
- During Mr. Trash Wheel's first 18 months on the job, 189,000 plastic bottles, 243,000 polystyrene containers, and an astounding 6.6 million cigarette butts were removed from the water, officials said.
- The Jones Falls watershed drains 58 square miles (150 square km) of land outside of Baltimore and is a major source of the trash that enters the harbor.
- The Waterfront Partnership hopes to add a second Mr. Trash Wheel in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood, if it can raise the $550,000 USD required for the project.