Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.

We sort the trash for recycling every day.

Breakdown of Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.

• nous: we
• tous: every
• le jour: the day
• pour: for
• faire le tri: to sort
• le déchet: the trash
• le recyclage: the recycling

Questions & Answers about Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.

What does faire le tri mean exactly, and why is faire used here?

In French, faire le tri is a fixed expression meaning to sort / to separate things into categories / to sift through.

Literally it’s “to do the sorting”. French often uses faire + noun instead of a single verb, for example:

• faire le ménage = to do the housework
• faire la cuisine = to do the cooking

So nous faisons le tri corresponds to English “we sort / we do the sorting”. There is a simple verb (trier, “to sort”), but faire le tri is very common and sounds natural, especially for things like waste, clothes, papers, etc.

Why is it le tri and not un tri or just tri?

The noun tri needs a determiner; you can’t just say faire tri.

Here, le tri is used because we’re talking about the activity in a general, habitual way, similar to:

• faire la vaisselle – do the dishes
• faire le ménage – do the housework

Un tri would mean “a (particular) sorting session” rather than the regular, routine activity. For example:

• Nous avons fait un tri dans le garage. = We did a (big) sort-out in the garage.

In your sentence, the idea is a regular action as part of a routine, so le tri fits better than un tri.

What exactly is des déchets here – does it mean “some waste” or “of the waste”?

In le tri des déchets, des is actually the contraction of de + les, so it means “of the”:

• le tri de + les déchets → le tri des déchets
• literally: “the sorting of the waste”

This is different from des déchets as an indefinite article, which would mean “some waste” in a sentence like:

• Nous avons des déchets. = We have some waste.

So in your sentence, des déchets is not “some waste” but “the waste” in the structure [noun] de + [noun] → le tri des déchets.

Also, déchets is normally used in the plural to mean trash / garbage / waste in everyday contexts.

Could we say nous trions les déchets instead of nous faisons le tri des déchets? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say Nous trions les déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours. It is correct and natural.

Nuance:

• trier les déchets: uses the simple verb trier (“to sort”).
• faire le tri des déchets: uses the expression faire le tri, which slightly emphasizes the process of separating / sifting.

In practice, for household recycling, both are common and will be understood the same way. You can choose either; faire le tri des déchets just sounds very idiomatic in everyday French.

Why is the present tense nous faisons used, when in English we might say “we are sorting”?

French uses the simple present for both:

• English “we sort” (habit)
• English “we are sorting” (present progressive, especially if it’s right now)

So nous faisons le tri can mean “we sort” (habit) or “we are sorting” depending on context.

To insist that it’s happening right now, French would typically add en train de:

• Nous sommes en train de faire le tri des déchets. = We are in the middle of sorting the waste.

In your sentence, tous les jours clearly shows it’s a habitual action, so the simple present nous faisons is exactly what French requires.

Why is tous les jours at the end? Can it go somewhere else in the sentence?

Putting tous les jours at the end is very natural in French:

• Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.

You can also move it to the beginning for emphasis on frequency:

• Tous les jours, nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage.

Another option, a bit more formal in feel, is to place it right after the verb:

• Nous faisons tous les jours le tri des déchets pour le recyclage.

What you should avoid is splitting the direct object in an unnatural way, e.g.
✗ Nous faisons le tri tous les jours des déchets… (sounds awkward).

So: beginning, after the verb, or at the end are all acceptable, with slight differences in emphasis.

What’s the difference between tous les jours and chaque jour here?

Both tous les jours and chaque jour mean “every day” and are correct in this sentence:

• Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.
• Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour le recyclage chaque jour.

Nuance:

• tous les jours is more common in everyday speech and feels slightly more conversational.
• chaque jour can sound a bit more formal or emphatic on each individual day, but the difference is small.

In most contexts, you can use either without changing the meaning.

Can we replace nous with on here, and what changes?

Yes, you can say:

• On fait le tri des déchets pour le recyclage tous les jours.

Differences:

• nous = “we” (clear, standard pronoun; more typical in writing and formal speech).
• on = literally “one / people / someone”, but in everyday French very often means “we”. It’s extremely common in spoken French and informal writing.

Grammar changes: on always takes 3rd person singular verb forms (on fait, not on faisons).

So in informal conversation, On fait le tri… is probably more natural; in a school essay or formal text, you’d normally keep Nous faisons le tri….

Why is it pour le recyclage and not just pour recyclage, pour recycler, or pour les recycler?

1. pour le recyclage

   • pour + definite noun expresses purpose / goal:
     
     • pour le recyclage = for recycling / for the purpose of recycling (in general).
   • The article le is needed; French usually doesn’t drop the article with abstract nouns here.

2. pour recycler

   • This uses a verb: pour recycler (les déchets) = in order to recycle (the waste).
   • You could say:
     
     • Nous trions les déchets pour recycler. (a bit vague)
     • Better: Nous trions les déchets pour les recycler.

3. pour les recycler

   • This uses a pronoun (les) referring back to les déchets:
     
     • Nous faisons le tri des déchets pour les recycler. = We sort the waste to recycle it/them.
   • This is also perfectly correct and natural; it just switches from a noun phrase (le recyclage) to a verb phrase (les recycler).

Your original pour le recyclage focuses on the general process / system of recycling, rather than explicitly on the action “to recycle them”, but all of these options are grammatically fine with slightly different stylistic choices.

Why is it pour le recyclage and not au recyclage?

pour and à express different relationships here:

• pour le recyclage = for the purpose of recycling (goal, intention).

  • This matches the idea: “We sort the waste so that it can be recycled.”

• au recyclage = to the recycling (place / system) (destination).

  • You’d use this more for movement or sending something somewhere:
    
    • Les déchets partent au recyclage. = The waste goes off to be recycled / to the recycling facility.

In your sentence, we want to express purpose, not physical destination, so pour le recyclage is the correct choice.