MEET THE
MR. TRASH WHEEL FAMILY

Protecting The Four Corners Of The Harbor

Using renewable energy and their giant googly-eyes, the Mr. Trash Wheel family cleans the Harbor, educates the public, and provides data to inform anti-litter legislation.

Baltimore's Mr. Trash Wheel Family is made up of four devices: Mr. Trash Wheel (2014), Professor Trash Wheel (2016), Captain Trash Wheel (2018), and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West (2021).

Can You Guess How Much Trash They Colllect?

Mr. Trash Wheel

Installed: May 9, 2014

Location: Jones Falls stream, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD

Likes: Pizza boxes, pythons and Star Wars (even the prequels)

Dislikes: single-use plastics, fatbergs and ducks (but denies ever eating one) (two maybe)

Professor Trash Wheel

Installed: December 4, 2016

Location: Harris Creek, Canton neighborhood, Baltimore, MD

Likes: Women in science, Beyonce, Eleanor Roosevelt, Thomas Dolby and sea otters

Dislikes: Low tides, strong winds and the patriarchy

Captain Trash Wheel

Installed: June 5, 2018

Location: Masonville Cove, Baltimore, MD

Likes: Big ships, bird watching and the beneficial reuse of dredge materials

Dislikes: Sedimentation, cloudy days and gender-specific pronouns

Gwynnda

The Good Wheel Of The West

Installed: June 3, 2021

Location: Gwynns Falls, Baltimore, MD

Likes: Anything purple, unusually large spiders, astrology, Erykah Badu, Wicked (the musical), Ouija Boards, and Hermione Granger

Dislikes: The Salem Witch Trials, plastic bottles, falling houses, Dorothy and her little dog too!

The first trash interceptor of its kind, Mr. Trash Wheel, was invented by environmental scientist and shipbuilder John Kellett and commissioned by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. It was installed in May 2014 at the mouth of the Jones Falls and is operated by Clearwater Mills LLC.

Today Mr. Trash Wheel and his family of semiautonomous trash interceptors have become social media celebrities and Baltimore landmarks thanks to the help of WPB's Adam Lindquist, who added googly eyes and named the invention to help engage the community. This is just the beginning of the Mr. Trash Wheel saga, discover the full history of Mr. Trash Wheel here!