The Colourful Garbage Cans in One Newfoundland Town Will Make You Smile

One of the first things you see when you enter the town of Fleur de Lys on the Baie Verte peninsula in Newfoundland is a garbage can painted like a giant can of Carnation milk. If you’re not familiar with Carnation milk, it’s a staple of Newfoundland kitchens, used in many a cup of tea. And not to be confused with “fresh milk”, which is your standard carton 2% milk or cream for coffee. So to see a giant can will put a smile on your face before you even properly get into town.

As you drive through the small town, population 244, you’ll notice other public trash cans painted like popular Newfoundland food products. They’re often located next to a colourful picnic table. It makes for a bright, fun, scavenger hunt while keeping the town tidy. Gotta find ‘em all!

While Crosby’s might be a New Brunswick company, their fancy molasses is first choice, along with a pat of butter, when it comes to touton toppings or when making a few loaves of molasses raisin bread.

There are enough beloved Purity products alone to fill the town with trash cans, but these two are strong contenders for favourites. You just can’t beat a lemon cream dunked into a cup of milky tea as a snack. And if you want to make some fish ‘n brewis you better have some hard bread on hand, ready to soak.

Did you know that when Newfoundland joined Confederation, one of the terms was related to Eversweet margarine? In 1949, margarine production was banned in the rest of Canada and so Newfoundlanders fought to have the Newfoundland Butter Company’s operations protected. Look up Term 46 if you’re interested in some esoteric history. The only change? They had to rename themselves to the Newfoundland Margarine Company and were prevented from exporting to any other Canadian province. You can still buy the margarine here but since 2004 it’s been manufactured on the mainland.

What’s a feed of Mary Brown’s, fish & chips, or a bag of roast chicken chips without a can of pineapple Crush? While it might seem an odd flavour to associate with an island in the North Atlantic rather than the Caribbean, here it is. The popularity of a pineapple pop existed in Newfoundland long before Crush, beginning with Crown Beverages. You may be able to find a few cans at speciality stores elsewhere but it’s all produced by Browning Harvey Ltd. in St. John’s.

So next time you’re on the Base Verte peninsula, swing by Fleur de Lys for some happy-inducing trash cans.