Removing Trash from Precious Wildlife Habitats in Arizona

In 2009 I became aware of a hidden problem within Phoenix; the freshly restored Rio Salado Habitat, a five-mile stretch of the Salt River, is plagued with trash. The habitat, now home to over 300 species of birds, is in danger as this trash is degrading the environment and causes bird deaths. Most people believe trash on the street stays there until cleaned up by a street cleaner, this is not the case. Any trash that does not make it to the land fill WILL make it to the Salt River.

When it rains, the rain water picks up trash and flows into street drains which dumps the trash out of large storm drains located throughout the Salt River, tremendously polluting the environment. As a result I started the Rio Salado Stormdrain Control Team. My team has developed an innovative grate catchment system which removes trash from stormdrain water. We are working with the City of Phoenix to install our design by years end and plan to expand to other cities in Arizona and then California.