News & Media
Rivers are Life, imagined by BeAlive, aims to bring you inspirational, ecosystem-saving stories from River Heroes all around the globe. Through films, podcasts, events, ecommerce, and engagement with the global river protection community, we take an inside look at how individuals and organizations are healing our vital rivers.
Our “Public Relations Team” at PROFILES is here to meet all of your media and press needs.
Please send all requests to:
Rida Dhanani
Account Executive - Profiles PR
Email: rida@profilespr.com
Phone: 703-309-9497
Reinventing The Wheel - Baltimore’s trash wheels are more than just goofy, googly-eyed gimmicks.
Baltimore was making a bad impression. John Kellett was sure of that. Walking to his job as the director of the Baltimore Maritime Museum, his path took him across the footbridge connecting Harbor East and Pier Six. And most days, the Jones Falls flowing underneath looked like a conveyor belt of trash, full of debris sucked downstream from the river’s 40-square-mile watershed.
Mr. Trash Wheel cleans up Baltimore Harbor with a dash of humor
Mr. Trash Wheel is a googly-eyed, trash-skimming water wheel installed at the bottom of Jones Falls watershed, which empties into the Baltimore Harbor.
The Healthy Harbor Initiative for the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, which has given the harbor a failing water quality grade every year since 2012, wants to make these waters swimmable by 2020.
Mr. Trash Wheel Immortalized in Song as Baltimore Harbor’s Hero
Mr. Trash Wheel is a water-driven trash-interceptor and collection machine that was installed four years ago at the mouth of the Jones Falls, where it empties into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
It was invented by Baltimore entrepreneur John Kellett and has succeeded in collecting more than 1.5 million pounds of garbage over the years. It has also collected a large social media following, with 30,000 followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Mr. Trash Wheel — Baltimore's Googly-Eyed Trash Collector
You’ve probably seen it—a barge-like vessel with a slowly moving steel wheel hitched to its side, and a curved white PVC-fabric cover lined with solar panels arched across its top. And, last but certainly not least, it’s hard to miss the pair of playful, five-foot tall googly eyes on top, which brings the contraption to life.
Mr. Trash water wheel removes rubbish from Baltimore river
Mr.Trash has been in use since 2014, removing over 1 million lbs of rubbish from Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Some of that rubbish includes 8.9 million cigarette butts and half a million polystyrene containers.
Googly-Eyed Trash Eaters May Clean a Harbor Near You
The rising star of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, known to locals as Mr. Trash Wheel, is a garbage gobbler with its own social media following. Built with $720,000 in public and private funds, the voracious device once filled 12 Dumpsters with trash in the 48 hours after a particularly heavy storm. Since its debut in 2014, it has pulled in more than a million pounds of trash and debris from the Jones Falls River. Expect that number to rise.
Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting the waterfront district, parks, and public spaces. We create welcoming programs, events, and recreational experiences while working toward a healthy harbor. We are committed to fostering connections among diverse communities to ensure equitable access to our blue and green space
Keep Up On The Weekly Buzz
Whether you live a few steps from the waterfront or take the occasional trip to visit, Harbor Beat is your source for local news, community events, historical insights, food & wine recommendations, and district updates.