Polish · Segregacja śmieci
You do not know which bin to put the rubbish in: what to say in Polish
You don't know which bin to put the rubbish in.
💡
How it's done. In Poland rubbish is sorted into five streams: papier (paper, blue), szkło (glass, green), tworzywa i metale (plastic and metal, yellow), bio (organic, brown), zmieszane (the rest, black or grey).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
Przepraszam, do którego kosza wyrzucić plastikową butelkę?
Psheh-PRAH-shuhm, doh ktoo-REH-goh KOH-shuh vih-ZHOO-tseetsy pluhs-tee-KOH-vom boo-TEL-keh?
Excuse me, which bin does a plastic bottle go in?
Or say:Przepraszam, gdzie wyrzucić plastik?
Psheh-PRAH-shuhm, gdzyeh vih-ZHOO-tseetsy PLAHS-teek?
THEY SAY
Do żółtego pojemnika.Doh zhoov-TEH-goh poh-ehm-NEE-kuh.
Into the yellow container.
They might also say:
Plastik wyrzuca się do żółtego kosza.
PLAHS-teek vih-ZHOO-tsuh syeh doh zhoov-TEH-goh KOH-shuh.
Plastic is thrown into the yellow bin.
2
YOU REPLY
A papier?
Uh PAH-pyehr?
And paper?
THEY SAY
Papier do niebieskiego.PAH-pyehr doh nyeh-byehs-KYEH-goh.
Paper into the blue one.
3
YOU FINISH
A resztki jedzenia?
Uh RESHT-kee yehd-ZEH-nyuh?
And food scraps?
THEY SAY
Do brązowego, na bioodpady.Doh brohn-zoh-VEH-goh, nuh byoh-ot-PAH-dih.
Into the brown one, for bio-waste.
The course is in the app
This dialogue is part of the course “Polish for life in Poland”: 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
Przepraszam
Psheh-PRAH-shuhm
verb
excuse me, sorry
kosza
KOH-shuh
noun
bin (genitive)
wyrzucić
vih-ZHOO-tseetsy
verb
to throw away
plastikową
pluhs-tee-KOH-vom
adjective
plastic (accusative)
butelkę
boo-TEL-keh
noun
bottle (accusative)
żółtego
zhoov-TEH-goh
adjective
yellow (genitive)
11 more words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
Proszę powtórzyć.
PROH-sheh pof-TOO-zhitsy.
Please repeat that.
Proszę mi to pokazać.
PROH-sheh mee toh poh-KAH-zuhtsy.
Please show me.
Similar situations
You want to get rid of an old sofaSegregacja śmieci · A2 in the app
→You ask when the rubbish is collectedSegregacja śmieci · A1 in the app
→You look for where to put plastic wasteSegregacja śmieci · A1 in the app
→You want to take an old wardrobe to the recycling centreSegregacja śmieci · A2 in the app
→Found a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it. This is language help, not medical or legal advice.Report