Forget It Jake, It's Baltimore

Mr. Trash Wheel and a full meal

Baltimore Fishbowl, Trash wheels remove a record 1 million pounds of litter and debris from Baltimore waterways in 2023

Baltimore’s water wheels collected more than 1 million pounds of litter and debris from the city’s waterways in 2023, though the amount of trash in the water is actually decreasing, the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore announced Wednesday.

2023 was the second consecutive year that the Waterfront Partnership operated four trash wheels in Baltimore’s waterways — Mr. Trash Wheel, Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel, and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West — which made the collection process more efficient. An increase in winter rainfall also contributed to the collection of more litter and debris last year, according to the Waterfront Partnership.

Despite last year’s record trash haul, the Waterfront Partnership said there is not more trash in the waters of Baltimore. Instead, the growing number of trash wheels has simply increased the capacity to collect more litter and debris.

Imagine a waterway where you can collect millions of pounds of debris and litter, and have plenty left over. That's Baltimore Harbor.