Baltimore’s Mr. Trash Wheel subject of documentary project

By Jennifer Franciotti

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — With his big googly eyes, Mr. Trash Wheel has delighted Baltimoreans for nearly 10 years. Now, his story is the subject of a documentary.

Taking the lead is Adam Lindquist, the vice president of Healthy Harbor Initiative at the Waterfront Partnership.

“There’s this whole fan base that has sprung up around Mr. Trash Wheel. We have Trash Wheel festivals, we have Trash Wheel merchandise, we have stuffed animals,” Lindquist said.

And why not? While not a Marvel superhero, Mr. Trash Wheel is the guardian of the Inner Harbor, and now The Baltimore Invention, and the people behind it are featured in a movie of their own. A documentary from Rivers Are Life out of Michigan, who sent a film crew from Los Angeles to Charm City.

“They came out for three or four days. They did an extensive amount of shooting and interviews. Talk to many local celebrities who are working in the field to clean out the Baltimore Inner Harbor,” Linquist said.

The documentary tells the story of Mr. Trash Wheel from its start nearly 10 years ago to today. John Kellet is the president of Clear Water Mills, which designed, built and operates the now four trash wheels in Baltimore. Mr. Trash Wheel along the Marriott on Aliceanna Street, collects trash from the Jones Falls River at the mouth of the Inner Harbor

“It’s picked up over 3,000,000 pounds of trash and most of that comes after a rain. If we don’t have rain, a dumpster could sit in there for a long time. When we do have rain, we’ve changed as many as 12 dumpsters in a single day.” Kellet said. “When we first put this in, Styrofoam was one of the major things that we saw coming down the river.”

Kellet said that actually inspired policy change and now a statewide ban that has reduced the amount of Styrofoam collection by as much as 90%. And while he said, the harbor certainly looks better, Mr. Trash Wheel is all about raising awareness. And that’s what Kellet hopes the documentary will do.

“(It’s) really helped inspire and educate people to become part of the solution to make sure that they are trash doesn’t end up in our waterways,” Kellet said.

That’s certainly a goal of a Healthy Harbor Initiative as the Watership Partnership is planning a public swim next year in the Inner Harbor.

“It’s thanks to projects like Mr. Trash. Wheel and the repair of the city sewer system that are going to allow us to have our first public swim in the Baltimore Harbor in over 40 years.” Linquist said.

There is still time to register for the Harbor Splash 2024. For more information on registration visit the following website. For information about the documentary, visit this website.

“Sit down with your family and some popcorn. It’s about a 15-minute film and learn all about Baltimore’s waterways, and this great invention.

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