Many communities worry about running out of room at landfills.

But do Minnesotans know what material is filling their landfills the fastest?

Nearly 30 percent of residents think disposable diapers hog the most space and just over 28 percent think it's glass, plastic aluminum and steel, based on a report from the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University in St. Paul.

Only 25.9 percent of Minnesotans know that the culprit is paper products, such as newspapers and cardboard, according to the report, "The Minnesota Report Card on Environmental Literacy: A Benchmark Survey of Adult Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors."

"This report card shows that Minnesotans can do better," Tracy Fredin, center director said. "We as a state have an opportunity to develop a vision for how we can improve the environmental literacy of our citizens."

The center in 2001 enlisted the services of the Wilder Research Center in St. Paul to survey randomly 1,000 Minnesota adults about their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to the environment. The final report, released this month, shows that Minnesotans think they know more about the environment than they do.

Nearly 65 percent of the state's adults believe they are knowledgeable about environmental issues and problems, according to the report. Yet only 10 percent of people surveyed answered at least seven out of eight general environmental questions correctly and nearly half showed less than average general knowledge about the environment.

Survey results will serve as a baseline to track trends and changes in environmental literacy, Tony Murphy, the report's primary author and an adjunct professor at the center said. The survey is not an evaluation of the public.

"Environmental literacy is not strictly a question of knowledge but includes the attitudes and behaviors that make a person truly able to address environmental issues," Murphy said.

According to the report, Minnesotans overall get most of their environmental information from television and newspapers. Residents in southwest Minnesota and other outlying areas are less likely than metro residents to get information from environmental groups, women are more likely than men to get information from their children and men are more likely to get information from government agencies.

Overall, 36 percent get some or a lot of information from the Internet and 68 percent -- 14 percent more men than women -- rely on their own formal training. This highlights the need for environmental education in schools, something 90 percent favor, the report said. Of the supporters, 50 percent think the state should pay for these classes and 23 percent think local districts should assume this responsibility. Women and adults earning under $75,000 annually are most likely to favor state responsibility.

Researchers also polled people on a variety of attitudes related to the environment and on their environmental behaviors. Those who scored high in general environmental knowledge were significantly more likely to hold a positive attitude toward the environment and to practice positive environmental behaviors, the report said.

Overall, 89 percent of respondents claim they conserve energy frequently, 87 percent service their vehicles regularly, 80 percent recycle, 58 percent conserve water and 55 percent cut down on garbage.

"It is unclear if Minnesota adults consciously take such actions to help the environment or do these things to save money," the report said.

On the other hand, only 30 percent of respondents frequently eat less meat, 19 percent use alternate transportation and 9 percent buy organic foods. Additionally, 5 percent frequently use chemicals on their lawns and nearly 21 percent never turn water off when brushing their teeth.

"Since we as Minnesotans are willing to do positive environmental behaviors we need to have the knowledge base and attitudes to do so," Murphy said.

Answers to other survey questions show:

• high knowledge of urban sprawl issues, although only 2 percent know Minneapolis ranks eighth in the nation for sprawl, which raises sewer and road construction costs, adds driving time and destroys more wildlife habitat.

• Minnesotans consider water pollution extremely important and an area needing more safeguards. Some 43 percent want more protection for wetlands, although 40 percent consider current regulations adequate.

• 35 percent believe genetically modified organisms are bad for the environment; nearly 44 percent have never thought about it.

• personal safety and community green space are top considerations in choosing where to live; property taxes are more important than quality of schools.

• willingness exists among 73 percent to pay between 13 cents and 23 cents more per gallon of gas if the hike helps improve the environment. This willingness decreases with age as well as in southwest Minnesota and other outlying areas.