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Workers fi x benches ahead of the Expo opening ceremony. The benches, which are made of recycled milk and beverage cartons, are part of eff orts by Expo organizers to promote a low-carbon event. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Fair a testament of organizers' efforts to build an ecological conscious society

SHANGHAI - Hu Xiaoyu thought the Friday evening fireworks show in the Expo's opening ceremony was splendid, but making it even better was his discovery that the benches he and others sat on were part of the Expo's efforts to go green.

About 2,000 benches, placed on the open ground near the Culture Center for the comfort of the audience, were made of recycled milk and beverage cartons collected from more than 500 communities across Shanghai in a green drive initiated last year.

"The benches contain a special message," said Hu, a Shanghai physician, who was enjoying the fireworks staged over the Huangpu River. "It is the start of a green practice".

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The benches are but one of the environmentally friendly and conservation-minded moves by Expo organizers to set an example in building a "green Expo". More than 240 countries and international organizations competed to show the harmonic balance of nature and society at their pavilions.

As such, the gross capacity of solar power for the Expo Garden will hit about 4.7 billion kilowatts, while about 1,000 vehicles using clean energy were put into use to help achieve the goal of "zero emissions".

At the press room in the Expo Center, desks were old ones purchased from the news center of the Beijing Olympics at 10 percent of the original cost, according to the organizers.

In the elevator of the main office building of the Expo, a sign reminded riders to use the staircase for the second and third floors. One kilowatt-hour of electricity would be saved each time they use the stairs and not the elevator, the sign said.

The opening ceremony of the fair proved to be a major testament of organizers' latest efforts in building a conservation-oriented society.

Each 1.2-m-long bench, which could seat two adults, is recycled from 856 used milk and beverage packages. Sterilized packs were also turned into tote bags and program sheets distributed to audience members at the ceremony, as well as rubbish bins across the Expo site.

Hu Jinjun, deputy bureau chief of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said that the opening ceremony followed green principles as much as possible.

For instance, some of the most popular performances at the ceremony will become regular shows of the Expo at night. To save energy, some of the hardware erected for the two-hour celebration, including the fountain, will remain on the riverside to continue entertaining tourists.

"Centering on the theme of 'Better City, Better Life', we are aiming to present an Expo highlighting high technologies and consciousness about nature," said Teng Junjie, the leading director of Friday's show.

The veteran gala director said that despite a lot of challenges, the directorial team did not use any plastic foam in the design of the stage since the material does not degrade naturally.

Instead, a large number of energy-saving lamps and LEDs are on stage, consuming about half the power of traditional lamps.

Expo organizers also dismissed media reports that up to 100,000 fireworks were used in the opening ceremony. Only one-fifth of the reported figure, or around 20,000, were set off Friday night, equivalent to the fireworks for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/01/2010 page2)