På genbrugsstationen står der en særlig container til elektronik ved siden af den til metal.

Both are possible in Danish, but the sentence you have puts På genbrugsstationen first to set the scene.

Danish is a V2 language. That means the finite verb usually comes in second position in main clauses. So when På genbrugsstationen is moved to the front, the verb står must come right after it:

• På genbrugsstationen står der en særlig container...

If you started with der, you could also say:

• Der står en særlig container på genbrugsstationen...

Both are grammatical, but they have slightly different emphasis.

Here, der is a dummy subject or expletive. It works a lot like English there in sentences such as:

• There is a container
• There stands a container

It does not mean there as a location in this sentence. The location is already expressed by På genbrugsstationen.

So:

• der står en container = there is / there stands a container

This is a very common Danish structure when introducing the existence of something.

Danish often prefers a position verb where English would simply use is. The most common ones are:

• stå = stand
• ligge = lie
• sidde = sit

For objects that are upright or thought of as standing in place, Danish often uses stå:

• Der står en bil udenfor
• Der står en container ved siden af...

So står here suggests that the container is physically standing there. Using er would not sound as natural in this context.

In Danish, på is often used for places such as sites, institutions, workplaces, islands, and certain public locations where English might use at or sometimes in.

So:

• på genbrugsstationen = at the recycling center / at the recycling station

Using i would suggest being physically inside something in a more literal way, and it would not be the normal choice here.

Also note the ending -en in genbrugsstationen. That is the definite article attached to the noun:

• en genbrugsstation = a recycling center
• genbrugsstationen = the recycling center

It is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Danish:

• genbrug = recycling / reuse
• station = station
• genbrugsstation = recycling station / recycling center
• genbrugsstationen = the recycling station / the recycling center

Danish often combines words into one long noun where English would use several words.

Because container is a common-gender noun in Danish, so it takes en, not et:

• en container

The adjective must agree with the noun:

• common gender singular indefinite: særlig
• neuter singular indefinite: særligt
• plural/definite: særlige

So:

• en særlig container
• et særligt problem
• den særlige container

Grammatically, særlig is the adjective in its singular indefinite common-gender form.

Its forms are:

• særlig for an en-word in singular indefinite
• særligt for an et-word in singular indefinite
• særlige for plural or definite forms

Examples:

• en særlig container
• et særligt sted
• den særlige container
• særlige regler

After til, Danish often uses a bare noun when talking about purpose, category, or what something is for.

So:

• en container til elektronik = a container for electronics
• en container til metal = a container for metal

This is very natural in Danish. English often behaves similarly:

• for electronics
• for metal

You do not need elektronikken or metallet here unless you mean something more specific.

Ved siden af means beside or next to.

It is a fixed expression:

• ved = by / at
• siden = side
• af = of

Together:

• ved siden af = next to / beside

Examples:

• Bilen står ved siden af huset.
• Hun sidder ved siden af mig.

So in your sentence, the electronics container is next to the metal one.

Because Danish often avoids repetition when the noun is already understood.

Here, den til metal means something like:

• the one for metal

It is short for something like:

• den container til metal
• or more naturally, containeren til metal

So the full idea is:

• ...ved siden af den til metal = ...next to the one for metal

This kind of ellipsis is very common and natural.

Because it refers back to container, and container is a common-gender noun:

• en container
• therefore den container

If the noun were neuter (et-word), you would use det instead.

Examples:

• en container → den
• et skab → det

Yes. That would also be grammatical:

• ...ved siden af containeren til metal

But den til metal sounds more natural if the speaker wants to avoid repeating container. It is smoother and more economical.

So:

• den til metal = more compact, very natural
• containeren til metal = more explicit

No, not in this use. Elektronik here is being used as a category or material-type noun, similar to English electronics in phrases like a bin for electronics.

So Danish says:

• til elektronik
• til metal
• til papir
• til glas

These are category labels, not individual countable items.

A rough grammatical breakdown is:

• På genbrugsstationen = at the recycling center
• står der = there stands / there is
• en særlig container = a special container
• til elektronik = for electronics
• ved siden af = next to / beside
• den til metal = the one for metal

This kind of breakdown can help you see the structure even if the natural English translation would be phrased a bit differently.