Johanna Worley, 50, of Manitowoc, a runner, said she is concerned about the days when poor air quality causes public officials to urge people not to be outside. She also is worried about water quality and questioned the environmental benefit locally of constructing new buildings rather than using existing vacant buildings.

Worley said buying a compost bin last fall encouraged her to think about all of the items that end up in a landfill. She has used the Web site, www.freecycle.org, a nonprofit community swap program, to get rid of unwanted items.

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