"Experts rank the ways of dealing with waste in order." Here "rank" means

Recycling means collecting things that would otherwise be thrown away, processing them, and turning them into new products. Old newspapers can become new paper; plastic bottles can become new containers.

It brings real benefits. When materials are recycled, fewer new resources such as wood, water and minerals have to be taken from the Earth to make new things. Recycling also saves energy, because it usually takes less energy to make a product from recycled material than from raw material dug up or cut down for the purpose.

But recycling is not the first thing to do with waste. Experts rank the ways of dealing with waste in order, from best to worst for the environment. At the top is making less waste in the first place, by buying and using less. Next comes reusing things, such as refilling a bottle instead of buying a new one. Recycling comes after both of these.

So the order to remember is simple: reduce, then reuse, and only then recycle. A plastic bottle that is recycled is better than one thrown away. A bottle that is refilled a hundred times is better still, and a bottle never bought at all is best of all.