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Do you remember B.C.91Ƶs 91ƵGarbage Gobblers91Ƶ?

The 70s were a different time91Ƶ
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A South Okanagan 91ƵGarbage Gobbler91Ƶ claims another unsuspecting victim in the 1970s. B.C.91Ƶs unique roadside garbage receptacles were in place from the late 1950s to early 80s. (B.C. Dept. of Transportation / Patrick Selby / Facebook photo)

If you91Ƶre old enough to remember a time when people dared to leave the house in bell-bottom jeans, you91Ƶre probably also old enough to remember B.C.91Ƶs fabled, quirky roadside installations dubbed 91ƵGarbage Gobblers.91Ƶ

The unique roadside garbage receptacles were created in the late 1950s by Len Shaw for the B.C. Parks Branch, according to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Gobblers were placed across the province in B.C. Parks and at information points along the province91Ƶs highways in order to 91ƵKeep Beautiful British Columbia Green and Clean91Ƶ by encouraging people to properly dispose of trash.

At the time the Garbage Gobblers were installed, it was common to dispose of trash by simply tossing it out the car window, noted a commenter on a recent photo of Garbage Gobbler in a Facebook group dedicated to historic photos of British Columbia.

91ƵJunior Garbage Gobbler91Ƶ trash bags for cars were also part of the provincial litter reduction strategy. Motorists were encouraged to feed the 91ƵJunior91Ƶ bags to the roadside gobblers along their travels.

However, the Gobblers turned out to be an ill-fated experiment, as they only ended up compounding the roadside trash issue.

Originally made from concrete and later with fiberglass, the Garbage Gobblers were designed with open backsides, attracting animals and causing large amounts of trash to pile up around them.

The Gobblers were replaced by the B.C. government with bear-proof canisters in the early 1980s.

Fortunately for enthusiasts of surreal environmental installation relics, a handful of vintage Garbage Gobblers can be found throughout the province. According to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, there91Ƶs even one somewhere in Penticton.

Have you seen Penticton91Ƶs own Garbage Gobbler? If so, we91Ƶd like to know where he91Ƶs been hiding this whole time.

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