Showing results for "recycling"

• present participle of recycle.

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

See Examples For:

recycling recyclings

In the labyrinthine alleyways of Cairo's Garbage City, recycling specialist Peter Romany finds himself fielding calls from factories scrambling for plastic to plug supply shortfalls caused by the Iran war.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Their mostly anonymous work personalized mass-produced material by decorating dog tags and coins, and recycling debris such as discarded shell and bullet cases.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Liberal Democrat cabinet member for environmental services, Chris Wiggin, said the event was "diverting textiles from waste by prioritising reuse and recycling instead of being discarded as waste".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

“I’m kinda into recycling, so I didn’t even buy materials for it. It was supposed to just give a laugh, maybe last a day,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Liyana and Rafik lettered poster-board signs for the Estate Sale while their mother gathered stacks of yellowed newspapers from the corners, throwing them into recycling bins.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

I mostly listen, relaxing after the day’s exertions, pinching myself at the wondrously weird subcultures of this underland, reflecting on the bizarre cultural recyclings that it calls out.

From The New Yorker ● May 23, 2019

I have no objection to its repeats and recyclings; long years of exposure to minimalism in music and dance have given many of us an appetite for this.

From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2016

Perhaps the heroes are too familiar: both of this month’s Marvel offerings, Spider-Man and X-Men, are recast recyclings of popular series that concluded a mere seven and eight years ago.

From Time ● May 27, 2014

These recyclings and post-modern experiments run the gamut in quality.

From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2010

Mulch was not one bit surprised that his recyclings had managed to hurl the elephantine Mud Man several yards through the air.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer