recycling

American  

[ree-sahyk-ling] / riˈsaɪk lɪŋ /

noun

plural

recyclings

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

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

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

The Greens say they will prioritise cleaner streets with resumed recycling collections, protecting public services, road safety and building more council houses.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

The mayor will speak about the plan on Thursday at Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, where construction is underway on a new water recycling project.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

“We cannot speak about an apocalypse,” Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote on Tuesday night, recycling a word used for the failure of 2018.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Most agreed the state should fast-track new reservoirs, raise some existing dams and increase water recycling to boost supply.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

When it comes to evidence, the new science was not inventing new concepts but recycling existing ones.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton