Spanish · Normas / ruido
A neighbour says you are sorting your rubbish wrongly: what to say in Spanish
A neighbour says you sort rubbish incorrectly.
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How it's done. Containers: amarillo (plastic and cans), azul (paper and cardboard), verde (glass, iglú), marrón/gris (organic or general); rules may differ by town.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.
Cheat sheet for your visit
The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.
1
YOU START
Perdone, ¿dónde se tira el cartón?
Pehr-DOH-neh, DOHN-deh seh TEE-ruh el kuhr-TOHN?
Excuse me, where does cardboard go?
THEY SAY
En el contenedor azul, de papel y cartón.En el kohn-teh-neh-DOR uh-SOOL, deh puh-PEL ee kuhr-TOHN.
In the blue container for paper and cardboard.
They might also say:
En el azul. Es para papel y cartón.
En el uh-SOOL. Es PAH-ruh puh-PEL ee kuhr-TOHN.
In the blue one. It's for paper and cardboard.
2
YOU REPLY
¿Y las botellas de vidrio?
Ee lahs boh-TEH-ahs deh BEE-dryoh?
And glass bottles?
THEY SAY
Al verde, el iglú, en la esquina.Ahl BEHR-deh, el ee-GLOO, en lah es-KEE-nuh.
In the green one, the igloo, on the corner.
3
YOU FINISH
Entendido. Gracias por explicármelo.
Ayn-tayn-DEE-doh. GRAH-syuhs por eks-plee-KAHR-meh-loh.
Understood. Thanks for explaining it to me.
THEY SAY
De nada. Aquí hay que separar bastante.Deh NAH-duh. Uh-KEE igh keh seh-puh-RAHR buhs-TAHN-teh.
You're welcome. Here you have to sort quite a lot.
The course is in the app
This dialogue is part of the course “Spanish for life in Spain”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.
On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.
Words worth knowing
Perdone
Pehr-DOH-neh
verb
excuse me, sorry
tira
TEE-ruh
verb
throws away
cartón
kuhr-TOHN
noun
cardboard
contenedor
kohn-teh-neh-DOR
noun
bin, container
azul
uh-SOOL
adjective
blue
papel
puh-PEL
noun
paper
23 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh reh-peh-TEER-loh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you repeat that, please?
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh uh-BLAHR mahs des-PAH-syoh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
¿Qué significa esto?
Keh seeg-nee-FEE-kuh ES-toh?
What does this mean?
Similar situations
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