Garbage scow

A garbage scow is a large watercraft used to transport refuse and waste/garbage across waterways.

It is often in the form of a barge which is towed or otherwise moved by means of tugboats; however, many are also self-propelled.

They are most common in large, coastal cities, such as New York City,[1] which may transport collected trash to neighboring ports for disposal or, occasionally, even illegally dump the payload at sea.

[2][3] The garbage scow Mobro 4000, which was given the nickname the "Gar-Barge", became notorious in 1987 for travelling between New York City and Belize trying unsuccessfully to get rid of a load of rubbish, ultimately incinerated in New York.

In 1948, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported a major bust of narcotics smugglers by United States customs guards and NYC police, with city sanitation workers searching through 20 tons of garbage on a scow in New York Harbor for over US$1 million in drugs concealed there.