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The Moscow Times Moscow Guide – Winter 2008

Since the middle of autumn one of the most important topics of discussion, could only be … no, not the financial crisis… New Year! The winter issue of The Moscow Times Moscow Guide is entirely devoted to New Years celebrations. Seven great ideas for celebrating the “Night of Nights” will help readers finalise their plans and choose how and where to party, give fresh ideas and lots of practical advice.

And don’t forget – problems will come by themselves, but happiness and luck need an invitation. That why the more cheerful and light-hearted your celebration of the coming holiday is, the happier and more successful 2009 will be for you.

The Crisis: Signs of a Kremlin Fearful Of Unrest
Sociologist Yevgeny Gontmakher has painted a disturbing picture of what might emerge from the financial crisis, forecasting continued unemployment, huge protests and spreading violence.

Market Matters: Huge Grain Harvest No Boon for Farmers
This year Russia is enjoying the biggest grain harvest it has ever seen -- and farmers couldn't be more worried.



Thursday, January 08, 2009 Updated at 31 December 2008 22:36 Moscow Time.

The Moscow Times » Issue 3864 » Consumer News

John Wendle / MT

Fandomats are easy to find and use.

Likbez: Feed the Fandomat

19 March 2008The strange blue reverse vending machines first appeared on the streets of Moscow in 2004. Today, their number has increased from 300 to 2,600. The boxy "fandomats," as they are called, boast the slogan "The city lives!" and accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans. After scanning the barcode on the package, the machines spit out a small amount of change: 10 kopecks per bottle and 40 per can.

The idea is to encourage people who buy water and soft drinks on the go to throw the bottles into a fandomat instead of a trash can: not as hard as it seems, since the scarcity of trash cans in Moscow forces some people to walk around with an empty bottle for a while before giving up and throwing it on the sidewalk.

In 2007, about 68,000 cubic meters in PET plastic bottles were collected through the fandomats. Those most likely to use the machines are street cleaners, pensioners, homeless people and children: Muscovites whose priority is extra cash. A growing tendency, however, is to use fandomats for environmental, rather than economic reasons. "It is possible to make up to 300 rubles per day by collecting and depositing cans and bottles, but many people don't even take the change out of the machines. They use them because they want to live in a clean city," said Maria Vernomudrova of ProfBusinessTelecom, a company servicing the fandomats.

With the number of fandomats rapidly growing -- it is expected to reach 3,500 by May -- the only problem appears to be emptying them in time. The company hires teenagers as monitors, who call the office when the machines get full.

After the cans and bottles are collected from the fandomats, they are taken to a facility, sorted by material and color, and then compressed into aluminum bricks and PET flakes. These end products are then shipped to companies that use recycled material to manufacture new goods.

The strange blue reverse vending machines first appeared on the streets of Moscow in 2004. Today, their number has increased from 300 to 2,600. The boxy "fandomats," as they are called, boast the slogan "The city lives!" and accept plastic bottles and aluminum cans. After scanning the barcode on the package, the machines spit out a small amount of change: 10 kopecks per bottle and 40 per can.

The idea is to encourage people who buy water and soft drinks on the go to throw the bottles into a fandomat instead of a trash can: not as hard as it seems, since the scarcity of trash cans in Moscow forces some people to walk around with an empty bottle for a while before giving up and throwing it on the sidewalk.

In 2007, about 68,000 cubic meters in PET plastic bottles were collected through the fandomats. Those most likely to use the machines are street cleaners, pensioners, homeless people and children: Muscovites whose priority is extra cash. A growing tendency, however, is to use fandomats for environmental, rather than economic reasons. "It is possible to make up to 300 rubles per day by collecting and depositing cans and bottles, but many people don't even take the change out of the machines. They use them because they want to live in a clean city," said Maria Vernomudrova of ProfBusinessTelecom, a company servicing the fandomats.

With the number of fandomats rapidly growing -- it is expected to reach 3,500 by May -- the only problem appears to be emptying them in time. The company hires teenagers as monitors, who call the office when the machines get full.

After the cans and bottles are collected from the fandomats, they are taken to a facility, sorted by material and color, and then compressed into aluminum bricks and PET flakes. These end products are then shipped to companies that use recycled material to manufacture new goods.

Contacts

www.fandomat.ru
448-1111