The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 plus 4 letter word COMPOST HEAP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
O
M
P
O
S
T
H
E
A
P
More clues leading to the result COMPOST HEAP
- Oppose match being played around rotting vegetation
- Stray cat pops home to see pile that's rotting
- Old politician, East German, in vulgar and degrading place
- Pile of fertiliser, inexpensive - order by mail received
- School teashop recycling waste here
- Pile of plant refuse, etc
- Switched mail order with inferior packaging that’s made of recycled waste
- Stake he secured in company plan that’s put together to promote growth
- Old male with stake in economical source of fertiliser
- Refuse tip after he follows order to pass the hat round
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Area for recycling" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case area for recycling = compost heap.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.