In light of Earth Day, why not learn to be a "Waste Wizard?"

The Archway of Garbage is part of the "Waste Wizard" exhibit.

On display through May 31 at the Museum of Natural History & Science at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Union Terminal, an interactive exhibit called "Be a Waste Wizard: Earth-Friendly Choices for Managing Our Garbage," takes visitors through the garbage cycle.

Beginning at the moment an item is bought at the grocery store to the point where it reaches a recycling bin, a compost pile or a landfill, the exhibit is designed to get people to learn how they can take action through Earth-friendly waste options in the community.

"I wanted the agency to create a 3-D exhibit of choices and outcomes, not a guilt thing," said Marilyn Hyland of the Marilyn Hyland Agency which created the exhibit in 1991.

As the tour begins, participants choose six grocery store items to be carried with them throughout the exhibit. After walking through an archway of garbage (made of more than 2,000 pieces of household trash) a person is then faced with choices of whether the items they have chosen can be recycled or composted. What remains in a person's basket demonstrates how consumer choices affect us long after they've been tossed away.

"Probably three of the six items you've chosen you will put in the landfill," Hyland said. "That's when they get it."

Hyland said the exhibit is designed to get educators, legislators and residents to think about current choices that exist and to consider if there may be more that can be done.

"In this community there's no composting on a large basis," she explained. "(The exhibit) introduces the possibility that they can do it."

In recent years, though, Hamilton County has held a composting program after the holidays to help rid Christmas trees. The effort keeps compostable materials from taking up space in landfills and provides mulch for residents and city areas.