The Garbage Eater of Baltimore
In the harbour of the city of Baltimore in the U.S. State of Maryland, „Mr.Trash Wheel“ ensures that there is a “trash-free” harbour basin. The waste collector, with a funny design, takes advantage of the river’s water current.
The Garbage Eater of Baltimore
With its paddle wheels, „Mr. Trash Wheel“ is reminiscent of a paddle steamer. Yet, this clever waste collector from Baltimore is much more eco-friendly than any old paddle steamer. Mr Trash makes use of the currents found in streams, rivers and the tides to collect hundreds of tonnes of waste every year and is driven completely without emissions, by a mixture of solar energy and thermal power.
A funnel positioned in front of Mr. Trash Wheel’s conveyor belt makes sure that he misses as little of the waste swimming on the surface as possible. The conveyor belt is driven by the current and solar energy and moves very slowly to be able to also pull large parts, like car tires, out of the water. Mr. Trash Wheel reacts automatically to the tides and turns around when rivers flow upstream at high tides. This assures that Mr Trash Wheel does not miss any waste.
The waste is emptied by a conveyor belt into a waste container standing on its own swimming tub. As soon as it is full, it is towed off and replaced by a new tub. At that moment, the waste collected is burned in a waste incineration plant and used to produce electricity, and in the future to also be recycled.
Mr. Trash Wheel is extremely gluttonous. Since he was installed two years ago, he has already “devoured” 1,232 tonnes of waste in the harbour basin. This included the following kinds of waste:
- 676,000 plastic bags
- 11,305,000 cigarette buts
- 1,094,000 polystyrene cups
- 954,000 plastic bottles
- 4,000 footballs
- 1 guitar
In light of the success of collecting and the extremely low ongoing costs, the municipal administration of Baltimore wants to soon buy two new devices. And the Craft Beer-brewery, Peabody Heights, has launched its own „Mr. Trash Wheel Beer“ to support the campaign. It remains to be hoped that this beer will only be drunk from returnable beakers.
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