diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index ebe6d4267..4a6eaac8a 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -255,8 +255,8 @@ fi
 
 # Whether to use the Boehm garbage collector.
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(gc, AC_HELP_STRING([--enable-gc],
-  [enable garbage collection in the Nix expression evaluator (requires Boehm GC) [default=no]]),
-  gc=$enableval, gc=no)
+  [enable garbage collection in the Nix expression evaluator (requires Boehm GC) [default=yes]]),
+  gc=$enableval, gc=yes)
 if test "$gc" = yes; then
   PKG_CHECK_MODULES([BDW_GC], [bdw-gc])
   CXXFLAGS="$BDW_GC_CFLAGS $CXXFLAGS"
diff --git a/release-common.nix b/release-common.nix
index 2e8a951b9..11944a631 100644
--- a/release-common.nix
+++ b/release-common.nix
@@ -30,9 +30,7 @@ rec {
   });
 
   configureFlags =
-    [
-      "--enable-gc"
-    ] ++ lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [
+    lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [
       "--with-sandbox-shell=${sh}/bin/busybox"
     ];
 
diff --git a/release.nix b/release.nix
index e512a7671..0b74de390 100644
--- a/release.nix
+++ b/release.nix
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ let
 
         buildInputs = tarballDeps ++ buildDeps;
 
-        configureFlags = "--enable-gc";
-
         postUnpack = ''
           (cd $sourceRoot && find . -type f) | cut -c3- > $sourceRoot/.dist-files
           cat $sourceRoot/.dist-files