WATCH: An environmental group has installed Latin America's first renewable-powered, trash-trapping wheel in one of Panama's most important but heavily polluted rivers
The wheel, fueled by hydraulic and solar energy, collects the vast amounts of waste produced in the capital Panama City with its metro population of around two million people. Tonnes of trash often flow into the sea each year.
"Cleaning beaches is good, but it is more effective and cheaper to trap garbage in rivers because when it reaches the ocean, the environmental and economic cost becomes too high," said project leader Robert Getman. Installed by environmental group Marea Verde, the wheel is named Wanda Diaz, in part a reference to the Juan Diaz river where it spins.
Wanda Diaz launched in late September in a river basin since drenched by heavy rains, which in turn propelled plastic bottles and containers into Wanda's mechanical arms.The Juan Diaz river is one of the most polluted in the country due to poor waste management, little regulation of real estate development, and its course across Panama City, one of Central America's largest cities.
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