Newport Bay trash interceptor to reduce debris, trash going into the ocean by 80%

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Crews who helped build the Newport Bay trash interceptor say it has collected about a dozen dumpsters full of debris and trash since the start of its testing phase this past January.

A walk along San Diego Creek in Newport Beach may have you wondering about a dinosaur fossil-looking structure.

It's the Newport Bay trash interceptor, just upstream from the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve.

The finishing touches were underway Monday.

Jon Lowery is a foreman with Jilk Construction, out of Brea, one of the companies hired to build it.

Lowery told Eyewitness News some of it came with plans "but the conveyer didn't have a plan. It was just to build off of a picture, and the guys in the yard built it by a little side picture."

It's modeled after the ones in Baltimore and will look more like the renderings provided by the City of Newport Beach when finished.

It'll work to reduce trash going into the bay and ocean from the creek by about 80%. The city of Newport Beach teamed up with several nonprofits and local leaders to help fund the $5.5 million project.

"We could fill these two trash cans behind you in an hour, hour-and-a-half," Lowery said.

Lowery said the interceptor has filled about a dozen dumpsters since January during its testing phase.

With access to cameras, city staff manually turn on the interceptor as needed.

Lowery explained, as the water level rises, so does the floating structure.

Soon, solar panels will power the pumps, taking the water into the water wheel.

As of Monday, the structure relied on battery power.

A boom directs debris to it. The rake system combs the trash towards the conveyer "and the conveyer pulls everything up," Lowery explained.

That conveyer then pours it all into the dumpster waiting at the top.

When asked whether he felt like he was part of something bigger than the construction of this, Lowery replied, "I think so. I think so. It's pretty gratifying."

The interceptor still needs a canopy and solar panels. Completion was expected by the end of March.