Asheville GreenWorks Trash Trout
By Gina Malone
If you regularly walk, run or spend recreational time near one of Western North Carolina’s waterways, large or small, you know how they can become conduits for water-borne litter—an unsightly problem, but, more importantly, one that affects water quality.
Asheville GreenWorks began experimenting with solutions nearly a decade ago, and has recently brought out its latest in floating containment booms: the more effective and durable Trash Trout version 2.0.
The device offers enlightenment as well as obvious functionality. “Our Trash Trouts are often installed in visible, public locations and can act as a tool for education and advocacy in the community,” says Megan Ward, marketing and development director for Asheville GreenWorks. “We use our traps to not only capture trash but to highlight our problem with litter.”
Asheville GreenWorks designed and built the first Trash Trout in 2016, and the City of Hendersonville stepped forward with a request to test it. These devices float at strategic spots in waterways, allowing water to flow through in such a way that trash is contained, but aquatic life is not trapped or harmed. Volunteers known as StreamKeepers regularly clean out the traps and ensure that the device is still in good working order.
That first trap found a home in 2017 at Mud Creek, where it still resides today. “To date, we’ve been able to collect and remove over 10,000 pounds of aquatic trash from Mud Creek, our local waterway,” says Michael S. Huffman, the City’s stormwater director and floodplain administrator. “The Trash Trout has allowed our Stormwater Program to engage residents through volunteer opportunities and serves as an educational tool to spark conversations about the impacts of single-use plastics, aquatic litter and urban stormwater runoff on water quality. We are grateful for the partnership and continued support of Asheville GreenWorks in implementing this innovative solution.”
Asheville GreenWorks Trash Trout
The brand-new 2.0 traps are built from channel aluminum rather than galvanized steel tubing. “This change strengthened the frame, extended the working life of the device and allowed our users to install these traps in saltwater,” Ward says. Additional improvements include a design that allows the Trout to ride over woody debris, preventing log jams; a “free flow” mode that allows the trap to be put into neutral in case of major flood events; and redesigned and reinforced pontoons that will extend the working life of the trap.
These traps, built locally by a family-owned business in Swannanoa, are made available nationwide to communities and nonprofits at around $10,000 less than competing traps. Asheville GreenWorks makes only a modest return on each one. “Each installation site comes with its own set of challenges, so our staff advise the community or nonprofit, help guide them to the most effective placement and troubleshoot any unique challenges to their location,” says Ward. “Our organization is more interested in getting traps in the water and supporting clean water initiatives than in turning a profit.”
Since Hendersonville’s adoption of that first device, 47 additional Trash Trouts—including the Trash Trout Jr., a smaller version for tighter urban waterways—have been installed in six states, including Arkansas and Michigan. The Town of Boone has purchased two Trash Trouts and has plans, according to George Santucci, the Town’s sustainability and special projects manager, to purchase a third one soon. “These devices are like having crews of volunteers cleaning our rivers 24 hours a day all year long,” Santucci says. “They’re seen by folks walking the greenway who compliment us each time we clean them out.”
In Beckley, West Virginia, three Trash Trout Jr.s, have been in place since February, 2023, the latest installed this past August. Private and public partnerships, as well as grant funds, helped the City purchase and install the devices on Piney Creek. “From February 2023, to August 2024, these Trash Trouts have collected more than 327 pounds of trash, including 597 plastic bottles,” says Luke Stevens, environmental manager of the Beckley Sanitary Board.
“Microplastics are a huge problem in aquatic environments around the globe,” Ward says, “and many microplastics are the result of larger items breaking down from sun and water exposure.” Installing Trash Trouts in smaller creeks, origin points for most trash, means that items such as plastic can be removed from waterways before they break down into particles so small that it is almost impossible to remove them from the water.
“It is Asheville GreenWorks’ goal to inspire, equip and mobilize communities, and this program allows our partners to create programs that fit their specific needs as we all grapple with our solid waste practices,” Ward says.
To learn more, visit AshevilleGreenWorks.org or call 828.254.1776. If you’re interested in becoming a StreamKeeper volunteer, email water@ashevillegreenworks.org to find out when the next training session will be held.
