BigBelly and Water Wheel to Clean Baltimore’s Inner Harbor
The Baltimore City Board of Estimates has conditionally approved funding for new garbage and debris collection technology that promises to improve sanitation in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
The solar-powered BigBelly Compactors, produced by the Seahorse Power Co. of Needham, MA, will be installed throughout the Inner Harbor promenade.
When full, the cordless 42-gal. bins automatically compact trash to one-eighth its original volume. The self-contained units will reduce odors and overflow from trash in high-traffic volume areas.
A $375,000 Water Wheel, designed by Clearwater Mills, LLC, uses a centuries-old technology to remove floating trash and debris from the water in the Inner Harbor.
John Kellett, the company’s managing agent who is also the director of the Baltimore Maritime Museum, invented the Water Wheel system and says he hopes to have it in place this year.
The city will place the trash interceptor device at the mouth of the Jones Falls, where it will operate continuously unattended even when the water level is low.
The interceptor will automatically collect garbage caught in the city’s storm water system after rain. Now, the city blocks garbage flowing down the stream into the harbor with a series of floating traps, or booms.