Trash-trapping wheel a green first for Latin America

STORY: This is trash-trapping wheel is the

first of its kind in Latin America

'Wanda' is powered completely

by renewable energy

It was created by an environmental group

to collect the vast amounts of garbage

produced in Panama City each year

Sandy Watemberg, Executive Director of Marea Verde:

“Wanda operates with a waterwheel that provides energy through the movement of the river and in case there is not enough flow, then it has a system of solar panels that provide alternative energy. This energy will move a first conveyor belt, which will collect all the floating waste that arrives at Wanda and in this conveyor belt we will be able to make a selection process to separate what can be recycled from what cannot. In this way we will be able to take advantage of materials that can be recycled.”

The Juan Diaz river, where Wanda operates,

is one of the most polluted in the country

Tons of trash often flow through

the river into the sea each year