State officials are giving the public an opportunity to help name the next member of Baltimore’s growing trash wheel fleet.
The Maryland Port Administration will soon be operating Baltimore’s third trash wheel at Masonville Cove, located right across the Patapsco River from Port Covington. From today through next Thursday, the agency is allowing the world to help name the city’s next solar-powered trash collector.
The voting portal offers five options:
- Uncle Curtis;
- Trashzilla;
- Captain Trash Wheel;
- Trash Smasher;
- and Oscar.
Student and residents near Masonville Cove helped pick the names. Some will notice that only one of the options fits the format given to the future trash wheel’s predecessors, Mr. Trash Wheel and Professor Trash Wheel.
The former has been swallowing trash from the mouth of the Jones Falls in the Inner Harbor via his conveyor belt since spring of 2014, while the latter has been in place at Harris Creek in Canton since last December. Together the pair have collected nearly 1.5 million pounds of trash, according to the Waterfront Partnership’s Healthy Harbor Initiative, which manages both robot trash-eaters.
Clearwater Mills, based in Pasadena, designed both trash wheels and is working on the one for Masonville Cove and another for the mouth of the Gwynns Falls in Westport. John Kellett, the company’s president, told Baltimore Fishbowl in March that the Masonville Cove wheel will be on the smaller side and cost $425,000.
Lindquist said today that while his organization won’t be operating the Masonville Cove trash wheel, “we couldn’t be more excited, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they name it.”
The fourth wheel will be larger, at a cost of $770,000, which is being partially funded by Sagamore Development, Continental Realty and the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership.
Linquist said Masonville Cove’s yet-unnamed trash wheel should be operational by early 2018. Its given name will be announced next month, according to the port administration.
This story has been updated with comment from Healthy Harbor Initiative director Adam Lindquist.
