Trash polluting waterways has become an issue worldwide. Plastics and debris in water kills aquatic life and affects the birds and animals that live near bodies of water as well. There have been efforts in collecting trash from oceans, lakes, rivers, etc. and some methods are innovative, like Mr. Trash Wheel.
In Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, MD, USA, there is a water wheel that collects trash from the water and dumps them into a dumpster. Mr. Trash Wheel is powered by the river water and solar panels so it can continuously run. After the dumpster is full, the garbage is incinerated, which generates power for the homes of Maryland. I think this system should be implemented worldwide.
Take a look at this CNN video regarding Mr. Trash Wheel. Adam Lindquist, Director of Healthy Harbor Initiative, has posted several waterway clean up efforts using Mr. Trash Wheel on YouTube.