Considering the traditional 10th anniversary gift is tin or aluminum, it seems fitting to note that approaching Mr. Trash Wheel’s 10th anniversary, his diet has included a steady stream of discarded soda and beer cans over the last decade.
To celebrate this milestone anniversary of 10 trash-eating years, Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative will host Mr. Trash Wheel’s 10th Anniversary: A Night at the Trashseum. The event will also honor Mr. Trash Wheel’s role as Baltimore’s Inner Harbor cleaner-upper, coinciding with a pre-Earth Day celebration.
The evening will be filled with art, artifacts, a living litter sculpture garden by Fluid Movement, a DIY “trashion” (trash fashion) crafting station, and entry into the Trashseum.
“Mr. Trash Wheel’s Trashseum will feature a never-before-seen collection of special artifacts from the past decade including an interactive model of the Mr. Trash Wheel prototype, notable tummy treasures and a celebration of Mr. Trash Wheel accolades,” reads the press release.
These incredible accolades include “Best Unelected Leader (Baltimore Sun),” “Best Twitter Personality (Baltimore Sun),” “Most Trash Intercepted (Guinness Book of World Records)” and of course, “Excellence in Hot Dipped Galvanizing (American Galvanizers Association).” Galvanizing, as everyone knows, is the process of coating fabricated steel by immersing it in a bath of molten zinc.
Attendees of Mr. Trash Wheel’s 10th Anniversary celebration will receive a “Wheely Wired” coffee mug. People 21 years old and over will receive two drink tickets for beer and wine.
Mr. Trash Wheel has been cleaning litter out of the Inner Harbor since 2014, removing more than 2,300 tons of trash and debris from Baltimore’s waterways. His family has grown to include Professor Trash Wheel, Captain Trash Wheel, and Gwynnda the Good Wheel of the West. The four trash wheels are all owned and maintained by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, and trash disposal is provided by Baltimore City Department of Public Works.
Mr. Trash Wheel’s fame has grown due to his being at the forefront of environmental victories. He has played a crucial role in the ban of polystyrene containers and single-use plastic bags in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. He and his fellow water wheels collected a record-breaking more than 1 million pounds of litter and debris in 2023.
Spongebob Squarepants has sponsored him, and Mr. Trash Wheel has made his literary debut gracing the front cover of “Green Machines and Other Amazing Eco-Inventions,” the latest installment in Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax” book series.
Mr. Trash Wheel’s “A Night at the Trashseum” 10th Anniversary celebration will take place on Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Public Works Experience. Early bird tickets (purchased before April 1) cost $45, General tickets are $50, and tickets at the door are $55. Admission for children 10 years old and younger costs $15 and does not include drink tickets or the commemorative mug.
Purchase tickets to this Baltimore icon’s anniversary celebration by clicking this link.
