Water is considered gray when you wash clothes, clean vegetables, take a shower, brush your teeth or only lightly contaminate the water. Gray water can also be reused or easily recycled. Black water refers to water that s used to chop meat, rinse fish, or flush the toilet. Black water can not easily be recycled, because it may contain feces or other bacteria, therefore it needs to go to a waste water treatment plant to be properly recycled. By definition, recycling refers to the processing or used materials into new products or items, to prevent the wasteful disposal of useful materials, as well as reduce air, water and soil pollution, and lessen the need for conventional waste disposal methods. The recyclable materials include different types of paper, glass, plastic, metal, textiles and electronics. The Lack Of Resources Encouraged Recycling During Wartime The outbreak of two major world wars in the early 20th century brought crippling shortages of precious natural resources. These major world-changing occurrences dipped available resources, and forced governments to encourage recycling. During World Wars 1 and 2, governments urged their citizens to conserve wood, paper, textiles, fiber, and even donate metals and precious jewelry. How The Recycling Movement is Picking Up Steam Today Because environment advocates and government planners worry about the threat of a full-blown garbage crisis, more and more programs are now being implemented to prevent the overflowing of our landfills. More states and counties have now adopted a wide array of recycling and waste recovery programs. Because different states have different regulations regarding the handling or disposal of materials containing toxic ingredients, check on your state or city s recycling regulations first. Place a CFL bulb in two plastic bulbs. Most US states require that you place a CFL bulb in two plastic bags, so that it s mercury content won t seep out if the bulb gets broken. The United States recycles as much as thirty percent of its solid waste; European countries like Sweden, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands however have recycling rates of as high as 60 percent. Here s a look at the most popular recycling programs today. Drop-Off Centers For Recyclables A drop-off center refers to a central location that s established to accept different types of recyclable materials.