If a material is recyclable, people can process it after use and turn it into something new instead of throwing it away for good. Paper, many plastics, glass, and metal cans are often recyclable — though actually what counts depends on your local rules, not on the word. A bottle can be recyclable and still end up in ordinary rubbish if nobody puts it in the right bin; the word names a possibility, not a promise. It is an everyday public word now: you see it on packaging and street signs. Used as a noun, a recyclable is an item of that kind. Recyclable is not the same as recycled: recycled already went through the process; recyclable still can.