recycling

American  

[ree-sahyk-ling] / riˈsaɪk lɪŋ /

noun

recyclings plural

1. the collection and processing of used or waste materials so as to make them suitable for reuse, often through a publicly administered program.

2. the act or practice of reusing or adapting something for a different purpose without altering its essential form or nature.

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adjective

1. relating to or engaging in the collection and processing of used or waste materials so as to make them suitable for reuse, or the practice of reusing or adapting things for a different purpose.

recycling Scientific  

/ rē-sī′klĭng /

1. The collection and often reprocessing of discarded materials for reuse. Recycled materials include those used in manufacturing processes and those used in consumer products. The recycled material is often degraded somewhat by use or processing and therefore must be converted to another purpose. For example, the processing of recycled newspaper and other paper wastes usually shortens their fibers, and the material cannot be used to make high-grade paper. Instead, it can be reprocessed to make cardboard or insulation. Recycling helps reduce pollution, prolong the usefulness of landfills, and conserve natural resources.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-recycling
  adjective
• nonrecycling
  adjective
• post-recycling
  adjective
• pro-recycling
  adjective
• self-recycling
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• recyclings
  plural

Explanation

The process of taking trash and turning it into new materials is recycling. It's thanks to recycling that a new playground slide can be partly made of used plastic milk jugs. Only some materials are eligible for recycling — aluminum, steel, glass, paper, and some kinds of plastic. These are typically the things you toss in your recycling bin (like empty soda cans and pickle jars). Recycling, or "reusing materials," was first used in an industrial context, from re-, "again," and cycle, "move through a repeating event." The process of making something, melting it down, and then making it again captures the idea of recycling.

Example Sentences

Five new or upgraded recycling facilities like the one in Pembroke Pines will open this year, and an identical facility is slated to be operational in Tampa, Fla., next year.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

A flood of cheaper imported recycled plastic and cheap new plastic, plus a collapse in commodity prices, has forced the closure of 25% of U.S. plastics recycling processing capacity since early 2025.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

Many rural areas have stopped curbside recycling collection because there isn’t enough volume of material to justify the fuel and logistics expense of hauling it to a distant recycling facility.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

He says that even if recycling rates continue to stay low for a long period, the infrastructure Waste Management is building makes it efficient.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

He took the last, soggy slice of pizza, an apple, and a raspberry-lime flavored seltzer to an empty table wedged between the emergency exit and a row of garbage and recycling cans.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste