Today, we head to Baltimore to their famed inner harbor. We will visit a googly-eyed, water-wheel-powered, trash-eating machine like no other. This ingenious contraption has become an unsung hero, but it’s more than just a machine. In fact, it’s even garnered a cult-like following with its own social media account, a locally brewed beer bearing its name, an annual fan festival dedicated to its greatness, and a special society known only as the Order of the Wheel. From its humble beginnings to its rise as a local legend, we’ll explore more about Mr. Trash Wheel.
Thanks to Adam Lindquist, Vice President of Healthy Harbor Initiative, for joining us on this episode.
Transcript (Automated)
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey everyone, this is Robert and welcome to the Outfall where we explore the unique backs, stories of our water and infrastructure world. I’m excited to have you join us today. We’ve got a really good story and let’s get to it.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Today we head to Baltimore to their feigned inner harbor. You know, I remember visiting this harbor as a kid. It was the first time I had ever been into a aquarium, which was so cool. We’ll be a stones throw away from this iconic national aquarium. But where we’re going today isn’t marked on any Taurus maps. We’ll visit a googly-eyed water wheel powered trash heating machine like no other. This ingenious contraption an unsung hero, but it’s more than just a machine. In fact, it’s even garnered a cult-like following with its own social media account, a locally brewed beer bearing its name in an annual fan festival dedicated to its greatness and a special society known only as the order of the wheel. From its humble beginnings to its rise as a local legend, we’ll explore more about Mr. Trash Wheel. Now let’s meet Adam. He’ll be our tour guide.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
My name is Adam Lindquist and I’m the vice president of the Healthy Harbor Initiative at the Waterfront Partnership here in Baltimore. So, waterfront Partnership is a nonprofit that’s responsible for managing and maintaining the inner harbor. I dunno if any of your listeners have ever been to Baltimore, but we have this iconic tourist destination called the Inner Harbor, the Waterfront Promenade. It needs really a lot of care and our organization takes care of it. And I am responsible for the environmental care of the Baltimore Waterfront through the Healthy Harbor Initiative. At Waterfront Partnership.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
While the waterfront of the Baltimore Harbor has captivated tourists as a major attraction in the Chesapeake Bay region, the harbor itself has faced a different reality. Plastic tires and other of trash continually float into the harbor.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
In the beginning, we just wanted to stop the flow of trash. I mean, after a rainstorm, it looked like you could walk across the harbor on all the floating trash. Back in 2010, the board of our organization got together and said, we gotta do something about the water. Like there’s too many algae blooms, fish kills, and way too much trash floating around, especially after a rainstorm. And so the board really got together and created the Healthy Harbor Initiative with this goal of making the harbor safer, swimming and fishing. And initially they set a goal of doing that by the year 2020. So they gave themselves 10 years. And the benefit of that kind of short 10 year deadline, relatively short 10 year deadline, was that it really pushed us to think outside the box because you know, the normal things that people do to try and address environmental issues were gonna take too long.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
So we said, what can we do right now to really move the needle on the health of the Baltimore Harbor? And this project, uh, this kind of trash interceptor project was, had been piloted back in 2008 by a local company, Clearwater Mills. And it was kind of undersized, like it wasn’t, it wasn’t quite right for the river that flows into the Baltimore Harbor called the Jones Falls. But we saw some potential there. So we reached out to Clearwater Mills and said, Hey, we think maybe if you build a bigger, better, you know, trash interceptor, and we send it out to an engineering firm for consultation and, uh, get an architecture firm to do some design, we think we could do something really impactful, uh, at the end of this river to collect trash. And so that was kind of the world before Mr. Trash Wheel.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Okay, so now we know a little bit more about life in the harbor. Before Mr. Trash Wheel, listen to Adam introduce the community to Mr. Trash Wheel during its first major storm event in 2014.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
So here we are on the Jones Falls in, uh, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on a rainy day, standing on the water wheel. And uh, which is behind me here, you could see this is the water wheel. It’s being turned by the current of the Jones Falls, which is flowing very rapidly because we just had pretty large rainstorm. And that wheel is turning this conveyor belt that is picking up all of this trash that is flown down the Jones Falls. And you can see we’ve got a lot of plastic bottles. We’ve got a lot of styrofoam cups, a lot of just kind of random pieces of styrofoam. And I believe the water wheel has just accumulated its first tire. Uh, so as you can see, it moves kind of slowly, but slow and steady, uh, in this case is just fine.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
We’ve included a lot of pictures and links to the YouTube videos of Mr. Trash wheels. So when you have a chance, you’re not driving, take a look at the show notes. I think you’ll be impressed. We asked Adam, what do most folks think when they actually go out there for the first time and see it?
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Mr. Trash was a very large trash receptor. Like I don’t, people usually underestimate how big he is. Like I think, uh, I I say like as big as a dump truck, but he’s probably as big as like three dump trucks. He is a big device and he doesn’t move around. That’s a common misperception is that he is like a Roomba going around picking up trash. He is moored into place at the end of a stream in Baltimore Harbor, and he uses the current of the river as well as solar power to turn a giant wheel that powers a rake system and a conveyor belt system. So at the front of the device, you have trash booms that are connected to either side of the river and, and when trash is coming down the river, the booms funnel it to the front of Mr. Trash wheel where these rakes pick up the trash, put it onto a conveyor belt, and then put it into a dumpster sitting on a floating barge in the back of the device.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
And when that dumpster is full, we can, we go out with a boat, take tow that dumpster away and put an empty dumpster in and just keep right on, right on churning. As we say, people come to the fence, there’s not a whole lot of trash, and they wonder what’s going on, why isn’t it working? But when it’s pouring rain outside and we’re getting tons of trash, nobody’s out there to see us doing all the hard work. So we do have like time lapse videos and stuff we put up on the internet so people can see like when it’s raining, we, we’ve picked up, you know, 16 dumpsters of trash after just one, uh, rainstorm. So we’re definitely monitoring the weather and when we see a big storm coming, that’s when you know, everybody get ready. We may need to be changing out the dumpster a lot because there’s gonna be a big rain event and these are like 15 yard dumpsters. They’re, they’re, these are big dumpsters, but that we fill up.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You know, one of the things that I think that’s really neat about Mr. Trash wheel’s design is it’s kind of this combination, right, of old technologies and new technologies. You know, it harnesses the power of the river’s current to drive a water wheel, right? When’s the last time we’ve seen a water wheel? And the water wheel lifts this trash and debris from the water deposit into a barge. But then you’ve got this new technology right when the water current is insufficient, it’s, it’s not flowing as much. An array of solar panels provides the additional power required to keep this machine in motion.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
The most famous thing we ever pulled outta the harbor was a living ball python snake. The snake is, you know, native to West Africa, so it would’ve been someone’s like escaped pet. Uh, potentially it got washed down the, the stream in a rainstorm and looked for the first warm dry place he could find to get outta the water. And he just happened to find Mr trash wheel’s, uh, power inverter, which is warmest spot on Mr. Trash wheel. And that is where we found the python. We called the National Aquarium, who sent over some national aquarium is, uh, headquartered in Baltimore. And they sent over their snake Wrangler to, uh, remove the snake for us. And it was a slow news day in Baltimore. So like that evening, every TV station went live from Mr. Trash wheel with the Python snake . So if there’s one thing people remember, it’s like the time we picked up this Python snake, which is why when we created Mr. Trash Wheel’s first Craft beer, we actually named it Mr. Trash Wheel’s lost Python Ale
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Since 2014, Mr. Trash Wheel has removed 1800 tons of trash. Now, to put this in context, it’s akin to the weight of around 260 fully loaded garbage trucks. Wow. But this tail doesn’t conclude here. It’s merely the starting point. What truly sets Mr. Trash Wheel apart is its power to galvanize public engagement. The Waterfront Partnership realized that this trash collecting Marvel had the potential to be so much more than just a mere garbage collector. It has become a catalyst for community involvement, driving environmental awareness, and even inspiring legislative action.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Now, how am I gonna make, how do you make a trash interceptor engaging ? And you know, I had no idea that it was gonna become like the most engaging thing I’ve ever done. But, you know, it looked really cool. It didn’t have googly eyes or a persona when we put it in there, but it put it in the harbor. But I went out there during our first rainfall and took a video of it, put it up on YouTube, and over the course of a week that video got over a million views on YouTube and went to number one on the website, read it, and legit like a viral moment for our work. But we hadn’t really planned for it. So then we had to back up and say, okay, we had our viral video. Where do we go from here? How do we, what’s the next step?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Because, you know, once people watch your videos, they’re gone. You know, you didn’t capture them, you don’t know who they were. So how do you build on a viral video? We hadn’t met with a marketing firm here in Baltimore. Well actually we invited people to come pitch ideas to us. We basically said, we have a viral video. Where should we go from here? And a marketing firm called What Works pitched the idea of giving the trash interceptor a name and a Twitter account. And because we have a very small budget for this sort of thing, like Twitter accounts are free to make. So we thought, yeah, let’s try that. And I named it Mr. Trash Wheel and built the first set of googly Eyes in my basement. And that’s how Mr. Trash Wheel was born. One of our goals from the start was put Mr.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Trash wheel out of business, or at least put him on a diet. So we aren’t eating so much trash. And so what’s phenomenal is like one of the things we do with Mr. Trash Wheel on our website, Mr Trash wheel.com, we post all the trash we pick up. So we do estimates for every dumpster we’ve ever pulled out of the river for how much of different types of trash are in that dumpster. And we use that data and photos of our work to help pass legislation in Maryland. We helped Maryland become the first take, our foam containers, and we also helped ban plastic bags here in Baltimore City and the surrounding Baltimore County. And what’s great is that when the statewide ban on foam containers went into effect, we saw an 80% drop in the amount of foam containers we were picking up at the trash wheel. So it’s great to have that data showing, you know, Hey, this legislation really did what we wanted it to
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Do. Come on. That’s pretty incredible for me. It’s also a reminder that anything in your life or business, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Mr. Trash Wheel, in essence, is like that Apple Watch sitting on your wrist, but it’s on the screen measuring trash, but it doesn’t stop there.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Mr. Trash Wheel creates a real sense of belonging, whether you’re a fan of Mr. Trash Wheel, we actually have a secret society called the Order of the Wheel that we’re currently accepting the applications for. So every year we have a trash wheel fan fest in September where we invite fans to submit trash wheel inspired artwork. And we actually, uh, and they can sell it at Mr. Trash Wheel Fan Fest. And yeah, we actually, I actually have, uh, a Mr. Trash Wheel children’s book that was submitted to Fan Fest. And we’ve seen Mr. Trash Wheel Mailboxes, Mr. Trash Wheel, uh, toilet paper dispensers. I mean, it’s really amazing to see the things that people come up with. We’ve seen Mr. Trash wheel tattoos. They’re in my, yeah, those are in my presentations. Cause that’s like the most extreme thing. I mean, who would ever thought that, like this ridiculous concept of a googly-eyed trash receptor would be something that people would want to permanently, uh, install on their own bodies. But yeah, I’ve seen, I’ve seen at least four or five Mr. Trash wheel tattoos
Speaker 4 (12:56):
When the rain would start app pouring down the Jones Falls waterway, there were tons of trash that would Splish Sand Splash all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. Super smart inventor built a nifty new machine. Now the floating trash disappears in a flash and the water stays clear and clean. Mr. Trash Wheel, Mr. Trash Wheel, Mister Trash, he’s the hero of the harbor.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
How much goodwill Mr. Trash will has brought to Baltimore City. I mean, to have a positive environmental story coming out of a place like the Baltimore Harbor, I think is something that a lot of people didn’t expect was even possible. So it’s been really celebrated by elected officials, by people who have been to Baltimore, or grew up in Baltimore and have moved to other places in the country. Like everyone is so proud that we implemented something that actually solves a problem. And, you know, that it’s, it’s also, we did it in a very Baltimore way. Like, I don’t know that googly eyes on a trash interceptor would’ve worked, uh, in any other city, honestly. But a city like Baltimore, it was like a perfect fit. Mr. Trash Wheel. Tapped into that maybe we didn’t know we were gonna tap into was this environmental movement folks looking to, uh, you know, attach themselves to something that’s fun, silly. And, and you know, there’s this anecdote. I like that when we ask people on our social media to go out and pick up litter, maybe like a dozen people will do it. Uh, but when we ask people to join a cult, that’s all about picking up litter. We get thousands of people to go out and clean up litter.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
He’s the hero of the harbor in Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
What a fantastic way to conclude our story today. For me, it’s a reminder to always think big, unleash our creativity, and even add a touch of googly eyes when faced with doubt. A special thank you goes out to Adam for joining us and sharing his incredible passion and creativity. We’re truly inspired while we focus this episode on Mr. Trash Wheel. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the other newer Trash Wheels operating throughout Baltimore. Let’s see. You’ve got Professor Trash Wheel, captain Trash Wheel, and don’t forget you have Gwenda, the Good Wheel of the West. We’d also like to thank Sharon Appelle for connecting us with Adam and assisting with the production of this episode at The Outfall. Our mission is simple. To share stories we would tell each other even without this silly microphone. This podcast is a labor love. It’s our way of just giving back to this remarkable water community. None of this would be possible without the support of our amazing listeners, just like you and our Patreon supporters who share our enthusiasm for this water world. If you’re passionate as we are and would like to contribute to our show, we invite you to visit our webpage and explore how you can support us. Thank you all for being part of this incredible journey. We’ll see you next time
Speaker 2 (16:23):
City, honestly. But a city like Baltimore, it was like a perfect fit. ,
Speaker 5 (16:30):
I’ll readily admit that I’m one of those people. I have family in Baltimore and every time I go up I get a selfie with Mr. Trash Wheel just cause it’s so much of what I do too, but it’s so sure.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Alright, I wanna see that photo at some point. That’s awesome.
