Too Bad the EcoMobile No Longer Visits My Neighborhood

I've been riding Synergetic's \"Green Wave\" campaign for two years now. Basically you do eco‑tasks, rack up points you can trade for tiny perks, and earn tickets for prize draws. For example, I drop plastic bottles into the Ecoplatform collection boxes – one of Synergetic’s partners – and swap those bonuses for tickets and Synergetic points. I only started using the Synergetic eco‑van a few weeks ago.

1. What the program is about:

SYNERGETIC eco‑vans roam Moscow, St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, picking up recyclable waste from environmentally‑conscious residents.

2. Schedule. In St Petersburg the van shows up at 21 locations on a fixed timetable (you can see it here: [link]). The spot closest to me ran every Wednesday from 10 am to 1 pm.

I’ll admit, that’s not the most convenient slot for a full‑time worker, but I’m on maternity leave and still out walking with my kid each day, so a weekly trip was doable. The stop isn’t exactly around the corner, but it’s not far from where I live either. I dug around the schedule a bit—some locations even have Sunday evenings 😄. I know once I go back to work I won’t be able to swing it, but that doesn’t diminish the whole eco‑initiative in my book. I’m still a fan 👍

When I showed up the first time, the driver warned me the schedule was about to shift because he’d been stationed at that spot for a year and a half, which is a long stretch. On my third visit the van was gone. A quick glance at the map (the link above) confirmed the vehicle had been pulled from my neighborhood. That was a bummer… I gave the Synergetic hotline a call, and the operator explained the van’s main goal is public education. The program runs about three months per location (often longer in practice) and then moves on—apparently they consider the area “educated” after that period 😀.

The mission is solid, but as someone who already knows the drill, I was using the van mainly as a recycling drop‑off point, so learning it had left my area was disappointing.

3. The eco‑van. It’s not huge, but you can’t miss it—a bright green little beast. I snapped a photo from a distance on my very first visit. Speaking of that first visit, finding the van was a bit of a hunt because many St Petersburg buildings have multiple blocks. The website said it would park by the first block, but in reality it was tucked behind the second one. Parking here is a nightmare, even in residential neighborhoods…

Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC review4. Communication. The first time I headed to the eco‑mobile, I was pretty nervous about how the staff would treat me – worried about getting those sideways looks. Let me explain: you know those city recycling drop‑off points you see near big stores? Usually there’s an elderly lady perched there, spending her day solving crosswords. One day I, feeling all eco‑conscious, walked up to drop off some plastic. I knocked on the little window and was met with a “sweet” grandma who immediately showed her displeasure with sighs, huffs, and a heavy stare. It was like, “People are coming here, distracting me from my puzzles.” She gave me a full‑body appraisal, and from her expression I could tell she’d filed me under “hobo collecting bottles from the trash.” She talked to me as if I were asking for alms 😂. Needless to say, that day all my enthusiasm for eco‑initiatives died on the spot, and I stopped thinking about sorting waste or turning in recyclables.

What’s it like with the Synergetic eco‑mobile? The driver doubles as the collector, and he’s a young, polite guy who chatted with me in a friendly tone and made it clear he was happy to see me. I felt an instant weight lift off my shoulders – no judging looks, just a warm welcome. He even gave me a quick heads‑up on what I could bring and offered a few tips. It really felt like Synergetic is run by people who share the same values.

5. What can you turn in? The eco‑mobile takes three kinds of waste: paper, plastic and batteries. I’m still sending my plastic bottles to Ecoplatform’s reverse‑vending machines because they let me swap points for non‑expiring Vkusvill bonuses, which cover up to 100% of a purchase there. I also drop batteries at Vkusvill’s eco‑exchange points. So when I visit the eco‑mobile, I bring in paper.

Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC reviewThere’s a quick guide on the site listing what you can and can’t bring. It’s not super detailed and it only really helps the first time you go. For example, it says you can bring office paper but not “contaminated” paper. I initially thought double‑sided printed sheets counted as contaminated 😂, but common sense tells me no one is hauling pristine office paper for recycling – that would be silly. “Contaminated” here means actually dirty, not just printed on both sides. I’ve got a stack of double‑sided A4 sheets piling up, which I used to shred before. Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC review I also turned in cardboard packaging. The first time I showed up with a salt‑packet box from the dishwasher detergent. I brought it in pristine, not crumpled, because I wasn’t sure they’d accept a crushed box. The eco‑mobile operator actually crushed it right in front of me, so I learned you can totally crumple the packaging 😂The driver also mentioned you can bring the cardboard cores from toilet‑paper rolls.

Paper waste review The photo above shows my typical “weekly paper waste.” We often buy cookies that come in cardboard boxes with a plastic film. I peel the film off because the cardboard has to be free of any clear inserts! Stripping the film is quick and easy. I also bring the cores from toilet‑paper and paper‑towel rolls. Paper bags are accepted only if they’re clean! In the picture you can see a paper bag from a food delivery – nothing spilled and no greasy stains, so I tossed it into recycling along with a handful of other cardboard bits (pencils, chocolate wrappers, etc.). Paper waste review That’s the stack of A4 drafts I accumulate over a week (see the photo above). Paper waste review At first glance those cardboard boxes look bulky, but I flatten them neatly and tuck them into the same pile with the drafts: Paper waste review All in all, gathering paper waste isn’t a hassle and doesn’t take up much space at home.6. What do you get? I’m glad more “pay‑to‑participate” eco initiatives are popping up lately. There’s the Ecoplatform fan‑clubs, the Vkusvill eco‑exchange points, and now “Synergetic” has joined the party. They don’t pay cash, but it’s no longer free. Think of the city recycling drop‑offs where you hand over stuff for nothing and get the side‑eye… yuck. So, what does “Synergetic” actually offer?

On your very first ride in the eco‑mobile you’ll snag 1 raffle ticket for a Synergetic prize draw and 120 welcome Synergetic points.

Every subsequent visit nets you another raffle ticket and 50 Synergetic points.

Every third visit also rewards you with a free eco‑product sample from Synergetic.

Eco products for every 3rd visit to the Synergistic eco‑mobile

Earning bonuses and points for visiting the Eco‑mobile7. What can you spend the points and tickets on?Tickets automatically enter you into a monthly prize draw. It’s three‑tiered and the level you qualify for depends on how many tickets you have. To hit all three tiers you need 11 tickets. The top prize is 100 k RUB. The first tier gives out Ozon vouchers worth 1,000 RUB (they used to be 500 RUB). You just need one ticket – meaning you’ve visited the eco‑mobile at least once. Six tickets gets you into the second tier, where they raffle off gadgets and 3,000 RUB vouchers. I’m not chasing tickets; I just collect whatever I earn each month. The coolest part? I already won a 3,000 RUB voucher for Synergistic products on Yandex. That was a pleasant surprise. I’m not counting on winning again, but there are also Synergistic points...Synergistic points expire after 180 days. That’s the only thing that really bugs me about the program… I originally saved up 7,000 points for bathroom accessories:

Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC reviews...but I later noticed the points were vanishing, so I had to redeem an eco‑product at the “Sborka” eco‑center for 800 Synergistic points. They gave me a clay face mask with no option to choose:

Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC reviewsIf you think about it, I turned packaging and paper that would have ended up in the trash into a beauty product – that’s pretty cool. Still, I wish Synergistic made the points non‑expiring, like VkusVill does.

And that’s not the only perk. You can save up for a coupon at Gemotest or a five‑liter bottle of liquid soap:

Eco‑mobile SYNERGETIC reviews

Bottom line

I think this eco‑initiative is pretty cool.

I’m not an eco‑fanatic, but I believe eco‑habits should be effortless. If recycling stations are right around the corner and you pass by the weekly eco‑mobile anyway, why not drop off waste for reuse? You get extra “perks” without any weird looks. In my book that’s awesome 👍 Really hoping the eco‑mobile comes back to my neighborhood.

What else can you do that’s useful?

I spotted a kiosk at my local "LENTA" that hands out free cat food samples, so I fed a stray cat (or just my own 😄)