Russia Launches Similar Car Disposal Program to Canada’s Successful Retire Your Ride

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A Sign that Governments, Drivers, Car Dealers and Green Vehicle Disposal Companies in Other Nations are Committing to getting Old, Heavily Polluting Cars off the Road.

NEW YORK — March 10, 2010 – Yesterday, Russia launched a state-funded program for the disposal of used cars. The program runs until November 1, 2010. It enables Russians who drive cars that are over 10 years old to bring them to an authorized dealer for disposal and a credit toward a new vehicle. The Ministry of Industry and Trade hopes that this program will help to promote the sale of about 200,000 new, less polluting models. A similar program, Retire Your Ride, Canada’s Vehicle Recycling Program has proven that eco-friendly models like these work – over 55,939 cars have been retired from Canada’s roads, reducing 3,010 tonnes of smog forming emissions.

As established by Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, cars for disposal must:

* have been owned by the customer for more than one year
* have been manufactured before 1999
* weigh less than 3.5 tonnes
* not be missing any functional components
* have proper ownership documentation provided by the owner

A list of the 1,569 dealers in 74 Russian regions and 153 car disposal stations in 49 Russian regions that are involved in the program has been posted on The Ministry of Industry and Trade website.

David Gold, Co-owner of Standard Auto Wreckers (www.standardautowreckers.com) and a Retire Your Ride partner said: “Car disposal programs like these are among many others, www.CharityCar.us, www.MrCarJunk.com and www.GreenVehicleDisposal.com to mention a few and are a good example that gives car owners smart options for disposing of and recycling their old, heavily polluting vehicles and reducing smog forming emissions. These initiatives show that government, consumers and businesses alike are teaming up for the environment.”

Viktor Khristenko, the Minister of Industry and Trade said that people who engage in the car disposal program will get additional bonuses from dealers. “Some companies have stated that they will offer additional discounts to customers who participate in the car disposal program,” the minister noted.

Khristenko also emphasized that there are about 14 million car owners in Russia with cars older that are over ten years old. The funds allocated for the program (10 billion rubles) will be enough only for the exchange of 200,000 vehicles. “This is less than 1.5%,” the minister stated. “Polls indicate that between 17% and 33% of car owners are going to use this service – that’s 10-20 times more than the financial resources allocated to the program,” the minister said. Therefore, he is confident that “this program will be in demand.”

Since the car disposal procedure is new for Russia, the minister does not rule out that “there will be some difficulties and questions. But I promise that we will be sensitive to nuances in order to adjust some things or to help finalize the car disposal procedure,” he pointed out.

Khristenko pledged that he would personally control how the program is implemented: “I will personally make sure it works,” he said.