The famous "Mr. Trash Wheel" may be making a trip up north to Pittsburgh in an effort to help keep the city's river clean.
TribLIVE reported that Allegheny CleanWays and Three Rivers Waterkeeper, two nonprofit organizations based in Pennsylvania, are working on deploying a trash wheel in the Monongahela River.
Developed by Clearwater Mills, a trash wheel is a type of floating device that runs on solar energy and pulls garbage out of waterways.
The trash wheel was first used in Baltimore to clean up the city's harbor. In Baltimore, the trash wheel has not only proved successful in removing trash from the harbor, but it has also been successful in improving individuals' actions.
The trash wheel in Baltimore has become a local legend, popularly known as "Mr. Trash Wheel," and has encouraged residents to reduce litter.
Hello friends! My googly eyes are back to their normal googliness thanks to my besties at Clear Water Mills. Now I can see what yummy trash snacks are coming my way! pic.twitter.com/EMtL6SWTYj
— Mr. Trash Wheel (@MrTrashWheel) February 20, 2022
"The reason we personified it is that we wanted to not just collect trash," Adam Lindquist, a key player in bringing the trash wheel to Baltimore, told TribLIVE. "We wanted to affect human behavior. Mr. Trash Wheel has done a ton to raise awareness of the impact littering has on the Baltimore harbor."
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In Pittsburgh, experts have conducted a feasibility study and considered the logistics of bringing a trash wheel to the Monongahela. The next step is raising the $1 million needed to have the wheel run in the area.
Bringing a trash wheel to the Monongahela would be a "game-changer," according to Allegheny CleanWays executive director Caily Grube.
TribLIVE reported that volunteers have hand-pulled 36,000 tons of trash out of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers. While that amount of waste reduction is substantial, hand-removing the trash is a tedious and time-consuming effort.
That's where the trash wheel comes in.
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Giving me money back 💰 "This device would double the amount of trash that we pull out in a year," Grube said. "To move into a device that's stationary and removing trash more efficiently using the river itself, there are huge efficiencies that come from that."
What ends up in these waterways is a variety of waste materials, including plastic water bottles, cans, food wrappers, and tires.
When this waste pollutes water bodies, it breaks apart into microplastics, which eventually enter the soil and the surrounding environment. What's worse, wildlife can mistake trash pieces for food, ingesting harmful debris that causes digestive complications.
Finding ways to optimize trash removal is a crucial step in improving these waterways. However, it's only part of the solution. As Lindquist highlighted, it's also essential to change public behavior and encourage both residents and visitors to properly dispose of their trash.
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