PUDONG is host to Shanghai’s first domestic garbage popular science exhibition center.

“The center conveys a message of the harmonious co-existence of humans and nature, and the infinite possibility of recycling by reusing a number of waste materials during its construction,” said Yu Zengrong, director of the Shanghai Science and Education Promotion Center.

The center, renovated from two abandoned machine repair workshops, features a variety of decorations from recycled materials.

Located in the Laogang area, the center covers about 2,000 square meters.

The paving outside the facility comprise about 50,000 ecological water permeable bricks mainly made of waste debris and bricks from dismantled buildings. The old bricks were smashed up, mixed with adhesive, cement, and industrial solid waste, and fired under high temperatures to be remade into construction materials.

Inside the center, the ceiling lamps come from recycled plastic bottles, while a sculpture displaying “lucid waters and lush mountains” is made from metal plates.

The center’s electricity comes from 28 solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the building.

The design of the center draws inspiration from the 2010 Shanghai Expo for the recyclable use of materials, said Yu.

The exhibition allows visitors to learn about domestic garbage, rubbish sorting, and how long it takes to degrade different types of trash, such as paper boxes and disposable diapers, as well as the harm caused by littering to soil, air, water and health.

According to the center, the most difficult degradable waste is glass, which takes up to 2 million years to degrade. It also showcases how domestic garbage is treated in Shanghai and is turned into resources.

The center is divided into seven parts that take visitors on a “fun journey” to a future ecological city. There are interactive games, too.

Laogang is an appropriate location for the museum.

The area is home to the Laogang solid waste comprehensive use base where 70 percent of domestic garbage in Shanghai is transported for recycling treatment. The site handles about 10,000 tons of garbage daily.