recycled

1. 1
   adjective

   Made from material that has been put through a process so it can be used again instead of thrown out.

   Like melting down old glass bottles to shape fresh ones.

   The packaging is manufactured entirely from recycled cardboard.

   Many cities now pave roads using recycled asphalt.

   Similarreclaimed

   Oppositevirgin, new

   Note

   A yes-or-no adjective: material either has been through the process or has not, so it does not take more or most. Writers who want degree reach for proportion instead, saying partly recycled or entirely recycled, or they give a share of the content. A sheet is never "more recycled" than another, only made with more recycled fiber.

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of recycle.

   The company recycled thousands of tons of glass last year.

   These cans were recycled into new building materials.

   Note

   One spelling does double duty: the simple past (the town recycled its glass) and the participle behind have and be (has recycled, was recycled). In US usage the object can also be a person put through training again, or simply a can dropped in the bin. Placed before a noun, as in recycled paper, the participle has settled into the adjective for reused material.

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