Recycling Black And Gray water At Home Most of us don t even know that there s a definition for different types of waste water. There s black water and there s gray water. Water is considered gray when you wash clothes, clean vegetables, take a shower, brush your teeth or only lightly contaminate the water. Styrofoam boxes can also be used for leftovers to help germinate seeds. Make a few holes in the bottom layer, then add some dirt, seeds and water. Styrofoam blocks can also be used in vases for making unique silk flower arrangements. You may also cut Styrofoam strips into flat strips for use as plant markers. 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. Find out if there s a retailer in your town or city who accepts the trade-in of old CFL bulbs. Some retailers like Ikea, have major recycling programs for CFL s, however they may levy a small fee for disposal. The plastic flakes are then dried in a tumble drier, and are melted afterward in a machine called an extruder , where heat and pressure melt the material. Because there different types of plastic, each variant at different temperatures. The molten plastic is then forced into a fine screen to separate the contaminants, and the molten plastic is formed into strands. Apart from metal, glass, plastic, aluminum, textiles, paper and electronics, organic wastes can also be composted and made into fertilizer. Rubber tires can now also be shredded and turned into insulation, erosion barriers and other unique products. Here s a review of the popular and widely-accepted recycling programs of today. The US Environmental Protection Agency also notes that recycling aluminum cans for example saves 95 percent energy as compared to producing aluminum cans from bauxite, its virgin source. Producing recycled paper also consumes less energy and water, as compared to harvesting, processing and transporting timber.