Munch, the Trash Eater

Munch, the Trash Eater at the Long Beach Antique Mall.

(Nov. 8, 2015)

Release: 1982 - 1982

Munch, the Trash Eater was a test attraction found at an unknown selection of Pizza Time Theatres, likely around 1982, that tried to gamify trash disposal.

The unit worked by having a vaccuum inside Munch’s mouth, which would suck up trash and play an audio track along the lines of ‘Mmm, Munch loves paper’. Later models got slots for pizza pans and trays, which when inserted would dispense one free token. Pans and trays were automatically dispensed onto a cart for cleanup. Models had availability to install a trash compactor as well, but it is unknown if any recieved this.

History

Nolan bushnell stated the Trash Eater was developed as a way to encourage guests to bus their own tables. It was possibly originally called ‘Munch the Paper Eater’, though this could be Nolan misremembering the exact name. This first unit only had the ability to accept trash in the mouth.

After the test, Pizza Time Theatre would install slots for pizza pans and trays, which would dispense a free token when one was inserted. During this second test however, it was noted that kids would browse the store for trays that were unattended and insert those. It was found food would be taken off of the trays and placed directly onto the tables. Nolan described this addition as that “It just turned out to be a disaster. So, sounded like a good idea, but in actuality, it didn’t work”.

The only mention of the unit would be from a set of promotional sheets, dated for 1982. This would show off a unit with the tray slots already installed. ^[1] Notably another unit was found at the Long Beach Antique Mall on November 8th, 2015, this would having a completely different mold, colors, and featured Munch sitting in a barrel (it is unknown if the one found in the promo sheets was also in a barrel due to the images being cropped). A fan purchased the trashcan but its wherabouts are unknown since then. ^[2][3]