Since its installation in 2014, Baltimore’s Mr. Trash Wheel (and his more recently introduced family members) have collected 2,362 tons of trash from the city’s harbor, including 940,000 plastic bags, 1.8 million plastic bottles and 1.3 million foam containers.
The quirkily designed machine has become somewhat of a tourist attraction and a most certainly a local icon. The odd looking - but highly effective device - celebrated its 10th birthday last week.
Mr. Trash Wheel is the brainchild of resident John Kellett, who noticed garbage collecting in the Jones Falls stream on his daily commute to work and wanted to do something about it. He created a prototype and then collaborated with the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore to make the full-size version that sits in the harbor today.
As for the signature googly eyes, those come from the nonprofit’s current vice president, Adam Lindquist. He told ABC affiliate WMAR he was trying to answer the question: “How can we get people more invested in the health of the Baltimore harbor?” Lindquist explained: “I built the first set of googly eyes in my basement and we held them up on the device and that was like the aha moment. … People are going to love this because Mr. Trash Wheel turns out is adorable.”
Thanks to Mr. Trash Wheel's success in the Jones Fall stream, a whole family of similar trash collection devices have been introduced in Baltimore: Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West.
Want to see it in action? Here's a video...