Palace Museum launches "zero waste" themed creative product exhibition

BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, has launched a special exhibition featuring sustainable cultural and creative products made from recycled materials, promoting the theme of "zero waste."

Over 40 environmentally friendly creative products are on display, all made from materials including agricultural waste such as straw, rice husks, and tea stems, as well as mineral water bottles and fallen leaves and branches collected from the museum grounds.

Waste materials from the production of the museum's other creative products such as leftover yarn, paper and wood scraps were also repurposed.

The exhibition aims to promote waste reduction, recycling and safe disposal while encouraging the responsible use of waste materials in creating sustainable creative products, the museum said in a statement.

The Palace Museum launched a "zero waste" initiative in 2020, focusing on improved waste sorting to reduce the amount of garbage that needs to be buried or burned from its offices and tours.

Between June 2021 and October 2023, the museum recycled more than 32,000 plastic bottles to make cultural and creative products, equivalent to a reduction in carbon emission by over 930 kilograms.