Plastic might be not so fantastic, but Mr. Trash Wheel is perhaps the local next best thing. Lately I’ve found this great philanthropic idea to change cities for the better. Mr. Trash Wheel from Baltimore is basically a vessel powered by solar sells and water wheels, that removes trash from the water. Read on for more.
Plastic not so fantastic
I was reading some articles about plastic pollution and how the plastic soup is affecting our species. Although I already had read a lot about it, it still surprises me how big the plastic soup is. It’s just insane. Look for example at this island in the North Pacific. It’s almost made of plastic!
Or watch Henderson Island. They found 414 million pieces of plastic over there. If you’re interested in the study who came to conclude this, head over to their website.
So the plastic soup is big, and is clearly leaving it’s imprint on the world. But it’s a common misconception that most trash comes from people chucking things directly into the water, says the trash wheel’s creator, John Kellett.
Instead, it comes from litter thrown out of cars, illegal dumping, and cigarettes left on the ground. When it rains, all that junk ends up in the watershed, where some of it eventually makes its way down to the harbor. Learn more about the problem of ocean trash over here.
How Mr. works
It’s clear that there’s a need for inventions and business ideas to fight plastic pollution. For sure we need more ideas like the Mr. Trash Wheel.
It still is an experiment, but the idea is simple. Place this machine on a spot where the plastic pollution from the city all comes together and Mr. Trash Wheel will eventually eat it all up. Just wait for it!
It works as follows: as the wheel turns, Mr. Trash Wheel collects litter from the harbour and stores it in a barge for later removal.
The first city to test this invention is Baltimore. You can find the Mr. Trash in the city’s harbour. The ultimate goal is to make the harbour swimproof by the year of 2020. Mr. Trash Wheel has to make sure of that.
Also, there is no electricity needed to operate Mr. Trash Wheel. The machine obtains his electricity from the movement of the water or he uses solar energy.
The machine is funded by members of the city itself, and the city councel and costed almost 700.000 euros. Until now, the results are impressive. Mr. Trash Wheel removed 19 tons of garbage from Baltimore’s waterfront on one day.
He is going to eat it ALL
Yes, there are many ridicious things found because of Mr. Trash Wheel. The most ridiculous thing might be a snake, as you can see in the picture down below.
In one of the Google-sections someone asked at one of the members of the machine if there has been a human body found. Gladly they never found.
Attention
As plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has become a growing crisis, the trash wheels have gained an international following.
In the New Yorker, sailor and engineer John Kellett says, “Over the last few years, I’ve been getting calls and e-mails from all over the world” A Japanese film crew visited last week. “I’m still kind of in shock about how much attention it has garnered,” he went on. “Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought that this idea I sketched on a napkin would lead to all this.”
Last note
So this is the Mr. Trash Wheel. I think it’s such a great idea… I mean, if we are able to get something like this in major cities that have suitable harbors, it would be in many ways transformational.
The implementation of this invention is in my opinion a real accomplishment. Both for environmental reasons and for reasons of the inventors courage and imagination.
What do you think of this invention? Let me know in the comment section below. I’m happy to hear from you.
If you’re interested in more quirky, innovative business ideas, head over to these blogs:
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