Out here, where there are many many acres of old bentonite pits, reclaimation is a great word and a good example of it’s description.
When the bentonite is mined, the top (productive) soil was removed first, then, consequentially buried by the underlying layers which are mostly sterile earth. After the bentonite is removed, what is left is a huge hole in the ground that is sterile and nearly waterproof, surrounded by the removed earth mounds that are also sterile. Good prairie land was converted into useless muck by mining. When reclaimation became law, the companies that had profited by the rape had to “reclaim” the land. In order to reclaim the land it was necessary to put it back the way it was or better. Guess that would be my definition of “reclaim” “To renew anything to it’s former glory or better”
To recycle is not to put it back the way it was, to recycle is to find a new use for something that has outlived it’s usefulness doing what it was designed for.
Hope this helps clairify