Here are some facts for this day. You are welcome to log your interesting, quirky or fun fact/s with your log.
On This Day - March 22nd 1987
A barge carrying 3,200 tons of trash leaves New York Harbor in search of a dumping ground, only to return months later, still carrying the trash.
The Mobro 4000 was a barge chartered by entrepreneur Lowell Harrelson to carry a load of trash to a site in North Carolina, towed by Louisiana-based tugboat, the Break of Dawn. Harrelson hoped to implement a new programme which experimented with converting waste into methane. The barge departed New York Harbor on 22 March 1987 with its load of 3,168 tons of garbage, headed for Morehead City, North Carolina. However, rumours began that the barge carried hospital waste such as syringes, gowns and diapers, which had contaminated the contents. North Carolina refused to accept it.
The Mobro continued down the east coast where it was rejected by both Louisiana and Florida. The Mexican navy denied it entrance to their waters. The barge continued on to Belize and the Bahamas, again being rejected, before returning to New York. Upon arrival it was met with a temporary restraining order and a heated legal battle preventing it from docking. In October the trash was finally incinerated in Brooklyn and the resulting ash was buried back where it started, in the Long Island town of Islip.