READING WORKSHOP 2You can reuse old clothes by giving them to someone else or Practice the Skills
by cutting them into rags. The rags can be used in place of
paper towels for cleaning jobs around your home. Reducing
and reusing are methods of waste prevention.Reusing Yard Waste Outdoors, you can do helpful things,
too. If you cut grass or rake leaves, you can compost these
items instead of putting them into the trash. Composting
means piling yard wastes where they can decompose
gradually. Decomposed material provides needed nutrients
for your garden or fl ower bed. Some cities no longer pick
up yard waste to take to landfi lls.^2 In these places,
composting is common. If everyone in the United States
composted, it would reduce the trash put into landfi lls
by 20 percent.Recycling Materials If reducing and reusing are not
possible, the next best method to reduce the amount of
materials in the landfi ll is to recycle. Recycling is processing
waste materials to make a new object. 2 2 Key Literary Element
Concept and Definition Think
about the word recycle. Does the
definition of the word help you
understand the concept of recy-
cling? See if other details in the
story add to your own definition
of the concept.- Landfi lls are places where dirt and garbage are buried in layers.
Figure 1 A person in the United States uses more resources than
the average person elsewhere.Conserving Resources 561