Mamiko
One of the first words in my Swiss German vocabulary between Grüezi and Chuchichäschtli was Robidog. And I have grown fascinated by the Robidog dog waste bins...
Now, Robidog is not some kind of robotic canine or Robocop sequel. But, the chihuahua looking small dog with innocent black eyes has the patented mission to Keep Switzerland cleaner on the ground level!
The history of Robidog dog waste bins in Switzerland
Robidog has long become synonymous with "dog poop receptacle" here in Switzerland. But it was not always this way: Initially, professional carpenter and inventor Joseph Rosenast was not taken seriously when he invented the green boxes in 1981.
Just in case, in 1982, the father of all Robidogs expanded his vision by patenting the system for all of Europe. Meanwhile, the name "Robidog" was registered as an international trademark. Another successful contribution to Switzerland, the largest patent holder in the world.
Only three years after filing for the patent, the city of Zurich had already placed an order for 50 Robidog toilets. And by now, more than 1600 communities across Switzerland are using 40’000 of these green boxes for the clean collection of canine waste! The perfect shade of green was selected to camouflage the waste box in the fields, forests, and along hiking paths...
By the way, the name Robidog is composed of the inventor's last name "Rosenast" and the word "dog".
Just like any innovative product, Robidog also faces competitors and knockoffs: the terrier from Bravo, the beagle from Bellco, and other goofies.
I have been so obsessed to spot them all that Dimitri got embarrassed to go for a walk with me! Enough is enough...
I am ready to share my collection of Robidog dog waste bin photographs with the world:
Of course, there is always a master in any discipline. When it comes to Robidog, I was so happy to discover that those colorful bags made it into the Gewerbemuseum in Winterthur! (The exhibit provided a critical look at plastic in this world.) I hope to someday see biodegradable Robidog plastic bags. Now, that would be truly Swiss!
Dimitri Burkhard
Don’t minimize the importance of Robidog. I spent three months walking all over Switzerland. I saw many of the dog deposit collection containers. I never found any dog poop that threatened the cleanliness of my shoe in any area of any city in any canton.
I found my way over to Colmar in the Alsace region of France one day. In less than 10 minutes I had managed to step in a fresh pile.
Until that moment, I had not known how wonderful it was to be able to walk down Swiss streets day in and day out looking at the beautiful scenery and fabulous buildings and interesting people. In France, I didn’t have that freedom. I had to watch every step I took to avoid more canine crap. In the lot where we parked, there were 10 piles alone.
Thank You, Robidog and Herr Rosenast. You are very important Swiss icons.
Loved the article, but especially laughed out loud reading this sentence; “I have been so obsessed to spot them all that Dimitri got embarassed to go for a walk with me!”.
[…] disturb anyone, you will be good to go. Either way though, if you are in an area where you see “Robidog” boxes (green boxes on a stand) it means you are expected to pick up and dispose of your […]
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