'Trash Wheel' In Newport Beach Nearly Complete

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — The Newport Bay is on the cusp of having an innovative new way to pick trash out of city waters.

The Newport Bay Trash Interceptor — otherwise known as "Trash Wheel" — is nearing completion after it was successfully tested during recent rainstorms, City Manager Grace Leung said.

The system, which was pricetagged at around $5.5 million, is designed to collect floating trash before it enters the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, Newport Harbor and beaches. Construction for the project began in Sept. 2024, Leung said.

"The city and its construction contractor tested the system for the first time during the late January rains, collecting a considerable amount of trash and debris that would have otherwise flowed into the bay," Leung told Patch.

The Trash Wheel is modeled after a similar project in the Baltimore Harbor, but with several innovations added due to the Newport Beach location.

The city's Trash Wheel sits on a floating platform that rises and falls with the tide. The platform, Leung said, holds a 14-foot wheel that spins using power from the river or solar panels to move a conveyer belt.

From the conveyer belt, the trash is deposited into a dumpster for collection by a trash truck.

The project was funded by the City, the State Dept. of Water Resources, the Ocean Protection Council, Orange County Transportation Authority, and Help your Harbor/Surfrider Foundation.

The City looks will formally dedicate the project with funding partners and contractors in March, Leung said.