Reduce, reuse, recycle
Reduce means using less in the first place, reuse means using an item again as it is, recycle means remaking the material.
A worked example
Turning an empty jar into a pencil holder is reuse. Melting that jar down to make new glass is recycling, which takes energy that reusing it does not.
The mistake people actually make
Paint, batteries and cleaners carry hazard symbols and belong at a special depot, because their chemicals leak into soil and water from a landfill. The recycling triangle is not a hazard symbol.