Mr. Trashwheel

Clean water from clean power.

Rivers the world over, from the United States to India and from Ecuador to China, are choked with the discarded debris of modern day consumption patterns. More often than not, an outsized burden is placed on poorer communities and locations. South Water LLC will partner with community groups, local universities and businesses to reduce pollution in the waterways of New Haven, CT.

The first project South Water will implement combines sustainable energy with pollution mitigation through an apparatus affectionately known as “Mr. Trashwheel”. Mr. Trashwheel collects surface floating trash and debris, using booms to direct surface debris towards a conveyor belt. The machine is powered exclusively by sustainable energy generated from

solar panels and tidal flow.  Situated at the mouth of rivers for ideal trash capture, the device has a proven track record of success. It is credited with plucking in excess of 200 tons of trash from the water since beginning operations in 2014 and greatly assisting in the cleanup of Maryland’s Baltimore harbor.

South Water will innovate on this original idea. The greatest amount of debris collection typically occurs during storm surges, when there is little sunlight. Through collaboration with Yale University, South Water will add a wind turbine to increase capacity and efficiency of Mr. Trashwheel.

Additionally, the inclusion of wind as the third type of sustainable energy would increase the range of accessible habitats where the apparatus could be utilized, specifically regions and areas that may have reduced or limited sunlight. South Water will also afix Mr. Trashwheel with monitoring capabilities to determine water quality and concerns, to provide data for local nonprofits such as Save the Sound and ongoing academic and government research studies.

Utilizing technology like “Mr. Trashwheel” can alleviate the communities downriver of polluted areas, and curtail the flow of plastics and other waste into the world's oceans. In addition, having a physical embodiment of sustainable energy that operates nearly autonomously aiding in rejuvenating the water visible to the city is a powerful statement that not only are such innovations possible, they are the next necessary step.

A key focus of this project is scalability. The current Mr. Trashwheel design is unfeasible without significant subsidies from industry. While this ensures buy-in from the entire community, it also makes Mr. Trashwheel unfeasible for many areas of the world. Through this pilot project, we aim to reduce the construction and operation costs to increase scalability in low- and moderate- income areas globally.

The intended innovations towards the design of the Mr. Trashwheel apparatus allow for a greater capacity for trash reduction and the capability to scale. By incorporating the student body and partners in the community, the possibility of rejuvenating both the design of the apparatus and it's subsequent impact on the waterfront in New Haven offers the capacity to create a platform that is not only effective in remediation, but a physical manifestation of collaboration and green energy.

The use of clean energy sources, solar, tidal, and wind to power the apparatus is integral to the design and use. As well the intention of affixing monitoring stations, and the possibility of refining the construction process to increase scalability. Further down the line, ideally the apparatus can be modified with the capacity to separate the materials that are collected to allow for easier use of recycling, reclamation, and disposal.

The goal over the next twelve months would be:

1.) Procure the resources necessary to bring the project to New Haven.

2.) Construct a model of Mr. Trashweel that incorporates both monitoring stations and wind turbines for wind power. 

3.) Determine possibilities of scaling.

4.) Launch innovated "Mr. Trashwheel" in New Haven Harbor.

Achieving a greater impact on more people and environments is accomplished by the proposed innovations of the design. Inclusion of wind-power allows for greater range of locations and enhanced capacity. The inclusion of monitoring stations would allow for the establishment of a network of shared oceanographic information to be created around the use of each Mr. Trashwheel in a new region. This would incorporate entities beyond those traditionally concerned with water health. As the product becomes a tangible manifestation of technological green innovation, the capacity to involve local communities, businesses, and universities increases.

Initially the design would be implemented in more regions in the US. As the design is refined and the possibility for greater scaling is achieved, any and all regions where the design could be utilized would be potential targets for use. At present, the company that owns and operates Mr. Trashwheel, ClearWaterMillsLLC operates on a request and response basis, responding to demand. This would likely grow in congress with awareness of the product. As well, partnership with conservation organizations that are present in other countries across the world may provide leads as to areas where the technology would prove beneficial.

At present the product services the population of Baltimore, roughly 614,664 by 2016 estimates.

However that is just the population estimate from city that is directly surrounding the watersheds where Mr. Trashwheel is situated. In reality the impact would be far greater as the apparatus removes plastics and other hazardous debris from reaching surrounding communities and the ocean.

The population of New Haven and surrounding towns, cities and towns that share the coastline of the Long Island Sound. As the project expands, any and all coastal communities that would have an interest in mitigating trash and other pollutants.

The Mill River contains dangerous levels of PCB and occasionally hazardous
bacterial counts, possible reduction of chemical hazards can be accounted for by the inclusion of monitoring apparatus, whileas bacterial count can be mitigated by the reduction of surface floating organic waste.

http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/dee...

Although the level of trash has not been scientifically assessed, presently in discussions with Professors to determine.

The skills that my team at present possess are access to an incredible idea and the desire to see it realized. As well, access to the New Haven Community and student body at Yale. An idea such as this would have a tremendous amount of interest amongst the students and the surrounding community. At first that would allow for quicker adaption in this specific city, and the subsequent innovations to the design would allow for larger scaling of the project.

The revenue model would be positioned towards long-term sustainability as the product provides a clean source of remediating trash in coastal cities. After construction costs and initial deployment, the only other consideration would be towards trash removal from the apparatus itself. Down the line this could be self-sustaining as the product grows to incorporate trash separating technology, allowing for possible reclamation of materials that could prove profitable.

I'm applying to Solve as I believe the possibility for innovation and collaboration as provided by this platform is ideal for the concept. I believe it can help the work both with material considerations and the with the expertise and network offered by the organization.

Material restrains and design implementation.

Finding a means to incorporate a new source of energy, wind, determining the best forms of monitoring that should be affixed to the apparatus, and refining the design/materials used to allow for greater scaling.