Sustainability has become an increasingly important issue in recent years with climate change and global warming rates on the rise. As such, different companies have taken different approaches to lessen carbon footprints or reduce pollution. One such innovation is California’s new trash-collecting water wheel that was recently unveiled in Newport Beach.
What is a trash-collecting water wheel?
Last Friday, Newport Beach revealed its new, state of the art trash-collecting water wheel. This multi-million dollar device, the first of its kind in the state, will be used to collect any trash floating in the water so as to prevent it from contaminating the beaches and local harbors.
According to city officials, floating debris and trash weighing hundreds of tons enters Newport Beach through San Diego Creek each year. If left unattended, the garbage ends up contaminating the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, Newport Harbor and other beaches.
The Newport Bay Trash Inceptor, a $5.5 million investment, will exist as a supplementary measure to other cleaning efforts in place, such as, trash booms, catch basin collection systems and floating skimmers, according to city officials.
“This is the first of its kind in California,” Katrina Foley, Orange County Supervisor, revealed. “They got the idea from Baltimore, Maryland 10 years ago. It took 10 years now, but we can’t take 10 years for the next one. This one will be a model of an innovative way to collect trash in our waterways. There are more than 100 of these channels where we can get trash picked up and protect our harbors, bays and beaches.”
The $5.5 million used to fund this water wheel was pooled together by various government agencies, as well as several non-profit organizations. Some contributing organizations include, California Department of Water Resources, Ocean Protection Council, Orange County Transportation Authority and Help Your Harbor/Surfrider Foundation.
How does the Newport Bay Trash Inceptor work?
Floating garbage and debris will be collected by the Newport Bay Trash Inceptor before it has a chance to make its way to the local bay, harbor, and beaches, thereby preventing any potential contamination. The waterways become polluted with an estimated 100 to 500 tons of trash each year. By introducing the Trash Inceptor to the body of water, the trash contamination is expected to be reduced by up to 80%.
In terms of how the contraption works, Newport Beach city officials have explained that the trash inceptor makes use of rotating forks on a rake that will move the trash and debris onto a conveyor belt. From there, the conveyor will then lift the collected trash and deposit it into the two dumpsters that will be positioned above on a rail sled.
The design of the Newport Bay Trash Inceptor was inspired by Baltimore Harbor’s iteration of the device known as Mr. Trash Wheel. This autonomous water wheel sits on a floating platform which in turn, is secured to the creek bottom with guide piles. The platform falls and rises depending on the tide.
The water wheel held on the platform measures in at 14 feet and is powered by either solar panels or the current from the river. The spinning of the wheel is what powers the conveyor belt that travels the collected trash to the dumpsters.
A four-step process occurs for trash collection:
- A boom system directs floating trash toward the Interceptor
- A spinning rake moves trash from the boom area to the conveyor belt
- Trash is deposited from the conveyor belt into a collection container
- When full, the container is moved by a short rail system to be transferred to a standard trash truck
“Depending on the amount of rainfall, the amount of floating trash and debris reaching the Upper Newport Bay via San Diego Creek is estimated between 100 to 500 tons a year,” city officials explained. “The system is expected to reduce that amount by 80 percent.”
City officials have also shared their hopes for this trash inceptor to be the first of many more in California.