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Trash interceptor

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Andy Dingley (talk | contribs) at 17:40, 16 February 2017 (→Baltimore's Mr. Trash Wheel: -cap "Water Wheel"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
The "Mr. Trash Wheel" trash interceptor at the mouth of the Jones Falls River in Baltimore's Inner Harbor

A trash interceptor is a device in a river to collect and remove floating debris – before the debris flows out into a harbor, for instance.

Baltimore's Mr. Trash Wheel

Mr. Trash Wheel's back side has solar panels, as a power source alternative to the paddle wheels.

Baltimore's Inner Harbor, known for its skyline waterscape and its tourist-friendly areas, was horribly polluted. The waterway was often filled with garbage after heavy rainstorms, failing its 2014 water quality report card. The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore took steps to remediate the waterways, in hopes that the harbor would be fishable and swimmable once again. Installed in May 2014, the water wheel, known as 'Mr. Trash Wheel', sits at the mouth of the Jones Falls River in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A February 2015 agreement with a local waste-to-energy plant, is believed to make Baltimore the first city to use reclaimed waterway debris to generate electricity.[1]

Mr. Trash Wheel is the world's first permanent water wheel trash interceptor to clean up the city's polluted Inner Harbor.[2][clarification needed] The Jones Falls river watershed drains fifty-eight square miles of land outside of Baltimore and is a significant source of trash that enters the harbor. Garbage collected by Mr. Trash Wheel could come from anywhere in the Jones Falls Watershed area.[3] The wheel moves continuously, removing garbage and dumping it into an attached dumpster using only hydro and solar renewable power to keep its wheel turning. It has the capability to collect 50,000 pounds of trash per day, and has removed more than 350 tons of litter from Baltimore's landmark and tourist attraction in its first 18 months, estimated as consisting of approximately 200,000 bottles, 173,000 potato chip bags and 6.7 million cigarettes butts.[4][5] The Water Wheel has been very successful at trash removal, visibly decreasing the amount of garbage that collects in the harbor, especially after a rainfall.

After the success of Mr. Trash Wheel, the Waterfront Partnership raised money to build a second water wheel at the end of Harris Creek, an entirely piped stream that flows beneath Baltimore's Canton neighborhood and empties into the Baltimore Harbor. Harris Creek is known to carry tons of trash every year.[6][7] The planned new water wheel was inaugurated in December, 2016, and dubbed "Professor Trash Wheel".[8] Professor Trash Wheel prevents waste from exiting the Harbor and accessing the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. A number of additional projects are going on in Baltimore City and County that should result in better water quality scores. These projects include the Blue Alleys project, expanded street sweeping, and stream restoration.[2]

In August 2010, the National Aquarium assembled, planted, and launched a floating wetland island designed by Biohabitats in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.[9] Hundreds of years ago Baltimore's harbor shoreline would have been lined with tidal wetlands. Floating wetlands provide many environmental benefits to water quality and habitat enhancement, which is why the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore has included them in their Healthy Harbor Initiative pilot projects.[10] Biohabitats also developed a concept to transform a dilapidated wharf into a living pier that cleans Harbor water, provides habitat and is an aesthetic attraction. Currently under design, the top of the pier will become a constructed tidal wetland.[11] The city also has a fleet of trash skimmer operators to clean the harbor, which together accumulate a total of 200,000 tons of trash each year.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Inner Harbor's Amazing Trash Wheel Just Got Better". Baltimore Magazine. February 11, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Chow, Lorraine (December 17, 2015). "Solar-Powered Water Wheel Removes 350 Tons of Trash From Baltimore Harbor". EcoWatch. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "Mr. Trash Wheel: Using the Power of Nature to Keep Our Harbor Clean". Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  4. ^ Baker, Brandon (June 25, 2014). "How a Solar-Powered Water Wheel Can Clean 50,000 Pounds of Trash Per Day From Baltimore's Inner Harbor". EcoWatch. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Clemens, Danny (April 22, 2015). "'Mr. Trash Wheel' Removes 6,700,000 Cigarettes from Baltimore Harbor". Discovery. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "Canton Water Wheel". Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Hodgkins, Kelly (October 15, 2015). "This Autonomous Trash-Collecting Boat Is Making Baltimore Harbor Less Disgusting". Digital Trends. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  8. ^ McDaniels, Andrea (December 4, 2016). "'Professor Trash Wheel' makes its debut in Canton". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Floating Wetland Island". National Aquarium. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Kellett, Pamela Tenner (March 13, 2015). "The Floating Wetlands of Baltimore's Inner Harbor". SpinSheet. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  11. ^ "Baltimore Healthy Harbor Initiative Pilot Projects". Biohabitats. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  12. ^ Madren, Carrie (June 8, 2013). "Baltimore Preparing a TMDL to Clean Up Trash in Its Water". Bay Journal. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
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