We’re fortunate here in Canada to have Americans as our neighbors because they’ve got some pretty smart Cookies down there and America has always been a world leader when it comes to ingenuity in solving urban problems. That’s not to say we don’t have similarly talented people up here in Canada – we certainly do. Anytime someone makes a real splash when it comes to waste collection and disposal you’re going to catch our attention here at Load n’ Lift, no matter where you’re located.
We do waste disposal and disposal bin rental in Trenton and Colborne, Ontario. But not too far away from us in the good State of Maryland there’s a new fellow who’s doing one heck of a job cleaning up local waterways. We can have disposal bin rentals at your job site in no time at all, but we’ve never conducted waste disposal while floating in any manner whatsoever.
Who are we talking about exactly? Let us introduce Mr. Trash Wheel
This ingenious – and seemingly animate – invention is the work of an engineer named John Kellett, a man who spent 20 years cleaning up trash along the Baltimore waterfront before he had the idea that eventually lead to Mr. Trash Wheel.
How does Mr. Trash Wheel work? That’s a good question, and here’s how he does his thing; in Baltimore Jones Falls is an 18-mile long stream which flows into the harbour. Mr. Trash Wheel is situated just before the entrance to it and 2 booms on either side extend from it to make sure no trash can escape this civic-minded character.
Water can continue on into the bay, but the trash can’t. Cups, bottles, plastic bags and floating debris are funneled toward the mouth of a conveyor belt on the barge. It’s then moved into a dumpster for proper disposal. The current of the water provides most of the power, but there are solar panels powering Mr. Trash Wheel too.
All Sorts of Trash
The good man has collected well more than 1100 tonnes of trash so far, and among that has been an estimated 11 million cigarette butts. He’s also gobbled up a few more interesting items too – including a discarded beer keg and even a guitar. The fact that he’s also kept an estimated 850, 000 plastic bottles out of the ocean is big plus too and yes he’s got all of this on his resume.
Mr. Trash Wheel has impressed to the extent that other countries around the world have expressed interest in Kellett’s invention, and it seems that Indonesia has already placed an order!
What’s more, you can even follow this fantastic fellow on Twitter if you like. Not your average tweeter, that’s for sure!
This type of innovation in waste management is the kind of stuff the whole world needs more of, and so we say Bravo to Mr. Kellett and the city of Baltimore for introducing this kind of device to the world. There are definitely more than a few waterways in Canada that could use something similar, and it will be interesting too see if we have our own Mr. Trash Wheel sometime in the not too distant future.
Need a dumpster rental for Colborne job site or a dumpster rental in Trenton for the same purposes? Make sure to call us first for the best in prices, service, and usually same day delivery of the bins. You fill them, we get rid of them and all waste is disposed of appropriately and in full accordance with Province of Ontario guidelines.