It’s no secret that plastic is one of modern society’s biggest problems. We produce 300 million tons of plastic worldwide each year, but 78 percent is never recycled. Unfortunately, this means a majority of used plastic is sent to landfills and eventually, our waterways. This is a problem considering plastic has a huge impact on marine life and currently, over 700 marine species face extinction due to the threat it poses.

While we can all reduce our plastic consumption by swapping single-use cups and water bottles for reusable options, one city has taken crushing plastic a step further by introducing a hydro-powered, solar-powered, plastic-eating machine. His name is Mr. Trash Wheel and he lives in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

As explained in the video above, Mr. Trash Wheel was created by John Kellet, who experienced the trash problem firsthand working on the harbor. Not only is it great that Kellet has worked so hard to ensure cleaner waterways for Baltimore, but he has also kept track of all the different types of trash picked up by this giant googly-eyed machine since his start in 2014. These statistics can be used to Support legislation that would ban single-use objects such as plastic bags and styrofoam containers!

Next time we’re in Baltimore, meeting Mr. Trash Wheel is going to be at the top of our list. Can we get one of these in every city?

You can keep track of Mr. Trash Wheel’s live feed here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

To learn more about how you can reduce plastic in your life, join One Green Planet’s #CrushPlastic campaign.

Image source: Baltimore Waterfront