Mr. Trash Wheel Is Headed To The 'Spa' For Some 'Self-Care'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — With five years of cleaning up Baltimore's Inner Harbor under his conveyor belt, Mr. Trash Wheel is taking a little time off.
The wheel, which has collected over 1,000,000 pounds worth of trash in the last five years, will be removed temporarily at the end of the Jones Falls to go through some repairs and maintenance.
It's time to TREAT ???? YO' ???? SELF ???? After five years of hard work, I am taking my first break. Sometimes you need to take a step back to be better and stronger for the work ahead: https://t.co/8TX4tepotu
— Mr. Trash Wheel (@MrTrashWheel) August 27, 2019
And it's safe to say, it's deserved a little R&R.
"He's been probably the hardest worker in Baltimore City, I'd have to guess," said Casey Merbler, with the Waterfront Partnership Healthy Harbor Initiative.
"It's pretty incredible, he does a really great job," Merbler said.
It will be transported by barge to Clearwater Mills' marina in Bodkin Creek. While the belt is being repaired, Mr. Trash Wheel will be taken to General Ship Repair in Baltimore and drydocked for cleaning, painting and other repairs.
Before it heads back to the harbor, the conveyor belt will be reinstalled, and new batteries will be hooked up.
"When he'll return, he'll probably look a lot younger, just like people do when they return from the spa," Merbler said. "Ready to get back in there for another five years to keep picking up trash,"
The Department of Public Works will monitor the area and use skimmer boats to collect trash for the four weeks Mr. Trash Wheel is expected to be out of service.
The wheel will take its leave starting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The maintenance is being funded by the Abell Foundation.