Sa kabila ng ulan, mag-recycle tayo ng plastik.

Sa kabila ng means despite, in spite of, or even with.

• sa = a preposition often meaning in/on/at/to
• kabila = other side
• ng = linker/marker introducing the following noun

Literally, sa kabila ng is something like on the other side of, but in actual use it means despite or in spite of.

So:

• Sa kabila ng ulan = Despite the rain

Because sa kabila ng is followed by a noun phrase, and ulan is a noun meaning rain.

• ulan = rain
• umuulan = it is raining / raining as a verb

So:

• sa kabila ng ulan = despite the rain
• kahit umuulan = even if it’s raining

Both are possible in Filipino, but they are built differently:

• Sa kabila ng ulan uses a noun
• Kahit umuulan uses a clause

Mag- is a very common verbal prefix in Filipino. Here it turns recycle into a verb meaning to recycle.

In this sentence, mag-recycle has a non-completed / intended sense, and with tayo it sounds like a suggestion or encouragement:

• Mag-recycle tayo = Let’s recycle

So mag- is helping express the action that we are going to do.

The hyphen is commonly used when a Filipino affix like mag- is attached to a borrowed word that keeps its foreign spelling.

Examples:

• mag-drive
• mag-text
• mag-recycle

So mag-recycle is standard and easy to read. It shows clearly that:

• mag- is the Filipino prefix
• recycle is the borrowed root

In casual writing, spelling can vary, but mag-recycle is a very normal form.

Tayo means we, but specifically inclusive we.

That means it includes:

• the speaker
• the person being spoken to

So tayo is different from kami:

• tayo = we, including you
• kami = we, not including you

That is why mag-recycle tayo naturally means let’s recycle.

In Filipino, a verb plus tayo often expresses a suggestion that includes the listener.

So:

• Mag-recycle tayo literally looks like We will recycle
• but in normal usage it often means Let’s recycle

It is a very common way to make a friendly proposal:

• Kain tayo. = Let’s eat.
• Alis tayo. = Let’s go.
• Mag-recycle tayo. = Let’s recycle.

Here, ng marks plastik as the thing affected by the action—the object being recycled.

So:

• mag-recycle = to recycle
• ng plastik = plastic

Together:

• mag-recycle tayo ng plastik = let’s recycle plastic

In this kind of sentence, ng often marks the object after a mag- verb.

Compare:

• Magluto tayo ng pagkain. = Let’s cook food.
• Magbasa tayo ng libro. = Let’s read a book.

Because plastik here can be understood as a general material or plastic in general, not necessarily a countable plural like plastic items.

Filipino often leaves nouns unmarked for plural unless it needs to be emphasized.

So:

• plastik = plastic / plastic material / plastic in general
• mga plastik = plastic items / plastics

Both can work, but they sound slightly different:

• mag-recycle tayo ng plastik = recycle plastic / plastic material in general
• mag-recycle tayo ng mga plastik = recycle plastic items

Yes, very natural.

Modern Filipino often combines:

• Filipino grammar
• English loanwords or borrowed roots

This is especially common with modern, technical, or environmental vocabulary.

So mag-recycle sounds normal in everyday Filipino, especially in urban or educational contexts.

You may also hear related forms like:

• nag-recycle
• magre-recycle
• i-recycle

All of these are normal examples of Filipino grammar applied to a borrowed root.

Yes. That is another natural way to say it.

Compare the two:

• Mag-recycle tayo ng plastik.
• I-recycle natin ang plastik.

Both are natural, but they highlight things a little differently.

1. Mag-recycle tayo ng plastik

This is more actor-focused. It highlights us doing the action.

2. I-recycle natin ang plastik

This is more object-focused. It highlights the plastic as the thing being recycled.

So the meaning is very similar, but the grammar shifts the focus.

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main statement.

• Sa kabila ng ulan, = introductory contrast phrase
• mag-recycle tayo ng plastik. = main clause

In English, this is similar to:

• Despite the rain, let’s recycle plastic.

The comma helps readability. In informal writing, people may sometimes leave it out, but using it here is clear and natural.

Yes. Filipino word order is fairly flexible.

For example, you could also say:

• Mag-recycle tayo ng plastik sa kabila ng ulan.

This still means basically the same thing, but the emphasis changes a little.

• Sa kabila ng ulan, ... puts the contrast first
• Mag-recycle tayo ng plastik ... puts the action first

So the original version foregrounds the idea of despite the rain, which makes the sentence feel more emphatic.