BALTIMORE — Mr. Trash Wheel is taking a well-deserved vacation. He has been temporarily removed from his post at the end of the Jones Falls to go through some repairs and maintenance.
He's been cleaning up Baltimore's Inner Harbor for 5 years and collected more than 1,000,000 pounds of trash.
"That includes over a million styrofoam containers, over 11 million cigarette butts, and also some kinds of silly things, like a couple beer kegs, a mattress, and even a 5-foot long ball python snake," said Casey Merbler with the Waterfront Partnership.
The solar-powered trash interceptor’s conveyor belt was transported by barge to Clearwater Mills’ marina in Bodkin Creek. While the belt is being repaired, Mr. Trash Wheel is drydocked at General Ship Repair in Baltimore for cleaning, painting and any necessary repairs. Before heading back to the harbor, Mr. Trash Wheel’s conveyor belt will be reinstalled, and new batteries will be hooked up.
In the absence of Mr. Trash Wheel, the Department of Public Works will monitor the area and use skimmer boats to collect trash. The trash booms will also be arranged to collect trash while Mr. Trash Wheel is out of service.
This scheduled maintenance is being funded by The Abell Foundation, and the entire process is expected to take about four weeks.
