Mr. Trash Wheel, the solar-powered trash interceptor run by the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, can cross “Break a Guinness World Record” off its bucket list! In the 2020 edition of the Guinness World Records book, Mr. Trash Wheel was recognized for “Most Floating Debris Removed by a Trash Interceptor in One Month,” a feat that was accomplished between April 1 and April 30, 2017 after removing 63.3 U.S. tons of debris from the mouth of the Jones Falls River.
“Making it into the Guinness World Records is a bittersweet milestone. It’s further proof that the trash wheel technology is extremely effective, but it also highlights how much still needs to be done to reduce the amount of litter in the Harbor,” noted Adam Lindquist, Waterfront Partnership’s director of the healthy harbor initiative. “Our ultimate goal is to put Mr. Trash Wheel out of a job, and for all Baltimoreans to understand how litter impacts our environmental health.”
Since breaking the record in 2017, collection data by year has been consistent with the amount of rainfall. The heavier the rainfall, the larger the amount of trash and debris is collected. “The fact that we haven’t come close to beating this record again is a positive sign, which we attribute to increases in street sweeping and the distribution of residential trash cans,” continued Lindquist. “The recent passage of legislation banning foam containers and single use bags should result in a further decline in the amount of trash we collect.
Mr. Trash Wheel was installed in May 2014 and has collected over 2.5 million pounds of trash and debris, originating from upstream areas in Baltimore County and lower stream areas in Baltimore City before being collected in the Inner Harbor. The trash wheel is maintained by Waterfront Partnership as part of its Healthy Harbor Initiative to make the Harbor swimmable and fishable.
The Healthy Harbor initiative provides a roadmap for cleaning up Baltimore’s Harbor and the waterways leading to the Harbor. A clean Harbor and clean streams will provide opportunities for residents and area families to enjoy clean water in their neighborhoods. Greener and cleaner neighborhoods will make Baltimore City and Baltimore County more livable for all our citizens. For more information, visit healthyharbor.org.
Waterfront Partnership is the proud steward of Baltimore’s crown jewel, its Inner Harbor and Waterfront. We’re lean, nimble and effective; the only organization that wakes up every day, rolls its sleeves up and gets to work on new ways we can make Baltimore’s Waterfront even more active, attractive and appealing. We’re the hosts who greet visitors, the creators of programs and promotions and managers of our beautiful parks. We encourage investment in Baltimore’s most celebrated asset so it can continue to grow, to serve as a place of pride and the place where Baltimoreans come together to recreate and to celebrate. For more information, visit waterfrontpartnership.org.
