Recycling is the method to make best use of any unwanted or unuseful thing.
It means that you are saving and reusing your stuff.
When I was competing in triathlon I cycled to Katoomba every Sunday morning. If I said it was only 1 km to Katoomba I'd be telling the truth, but that's the vertical distance. Along the road it's 40 km, or 25 miles. When I got there I'd recycle and, wheee, it was down hill all the way home.
Recycling is finding ways to re-use cast-off goods that we no longer need.
It may be
-- composting vegetable waste,
-- finding new ways to use worn out products,
-- building an entire industry to refine used products,
-- buying clothing/furniture from a charity shop,
-- getting a pet from an animal shelter.
Those are only a few ideas. The possibilities are almost endless.
Recycling means that to save the environment and make it a better place to live in.
It means you recycle your cardboard boxes and other things.
I think it means to squish down all your unwanted cardboard ect.