Learn Hardcore German: Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren, indem wir Plastik recyceln. - We want to reduce our trash by recycling plastic.

Müll is masculine in German (der Müll). In this sentence, Müll is the direct object of the verb reduzieren, so it has to be in the accusative case.

For a masculine noun in the accusative, the possessive unser- takes the ending -en:

Nominative: unser Müll (our trash – as subject)
Accusative: unseren Müll (our trash – as object)

Since we are reducing the trash (it receives the action), we must say unseren Müll.

What exactly does wollen mean here? Is it “want to” or “will”?

wollen is a modal verb meaning “to want (to)” and it expresses intention or desire, not the future tense.

Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren
= We want to reduce our trash / We intend to reduce our trash.

It is not the same as English “will” as a future marker. For a neutral future in German, you would use werden:

Wir werden unseren Müll reduzieren.
= We will reduce our trash (in the future).

You could also say:

Wir möchten unseren Müll reduzieren.
= We would like to reduce our trash. (more polite / softer than wollen)

Why is the word order wir wollen … reduzieren? Why is reduzieren at the end?

In German, with a modal verb (like wollen, können, müssen), the full verb (infinitive) usually goes to the end of the clause.

Structure of the main clause:

Subject: Wir
Modal verb (conjugated): wollen
Object: unseren Müll
Full verb (infinitive): reduzieren

So the pattern is:
[Subject] [modal verb] [other stuff] [infinitive at the end].

Hence: Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren.

What does indem mean, and how is it different from just saying “by recycling plastic”?

indem is a subordinating conjunction that means roughly “by (doing something)” or “by means of (doing something)”.

The English sentence:

We want to reduce our trash *by recycling plastic.*

German cannot use a gerund like “recycling” in the same way. Instead, it uses a full subordinate clause introduced by indem:

…, indem wir Plastik recyceln.
= … by (the fact that) we recycle plastic.

So:

English: by + -ing (by recycling)
German: indem + full clause (indem wir Plastik recyceln)

Why is there a comma before indem?

There is a comma before indem because indem introduces a subordinate clause.

Rule of thumb:
When a word like dass, weil, wenn, obwohl, indem, während, nachdem etc. introduces a clause, you separate that clause from the main clause with a comma.

So:

Main clause: Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren
Subordinate clause: indem wir Plastik recyceln

Joined with a comma:
Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren, indem wir Plastik recyceln.

Why is the verb at the end in indem wir Plastik recyceln?

In a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction (like indem), the finite verb goes to the end of the clause.

Structure of the indem-clause:

Conjunction: indem
Subject: wir
Object: Plastik
Verb (conjugated): recyceln

So the pattern is:
indem + [subject] + [object] + [verb at the end]

Hence: indem wir Plastik recyceln, not indem wir recyceln Plastik (which would sound wrong in standard German).

Can I swap the order of the two clauses, like: Indem wir Plastik recyceln, wollen wir unseren Müll reduzieren?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Indem wir Plastik recyceln, wollen wir unseren Müll reduzieren.

The meaning stays the same. What changes is the focus:

Wir wollen unseren Müll reduzieren, indem wir Plastik recyceln.
→ Focus more on what we want (reducing trash), and then explain how.
Indem wir Plastik recyceln, wollen wir unseren Müll reduzieren.
→ Focus slightly more on the method first (recycling plastic), then on the goal.

Both versions are natural German.

Why is there no article before Plastik? Why not das Plastik?

Plastik is usually treated as an uncountable mass noun, similar to “water” or “trash” in English. When you talk about it in a general or non-specific way, you often use no article:

Wir recyceln Plastik.
= We recycle plastic (in general).

You can use das Plastik when you mean a specific piece or type of plastic:

Das Plastik in dieser Verpackung ist recycelbar.
= The plastic in this packaging is recyclable.

In your sentence, it is general, so Plastik without an article is normal.

Is there a difference between Müll and Abfall?

Both generally mean “waste / trash / garbage”, but there are some nuances:

Müll
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Slightly more informal.
- Used in many compounds: Mülltonne (trash bin), Mülltrennung (waste separation).
Abfall
- Slightly more formal or technical.
- Common in administrative / environmental contexts: Abfallwirtschaft (waste management), Sonderabfall (hazardous waste).

In this sentence, Müll sounds very natural and conversational.
You could say Wir wollen unseren Abfall reduzieren, but Müll is more colloquial.

Could I say verringern instead of reduzieren? Do they mean the same?

Yes, you could say:

Wir wollen unseren Müll verringern, indem wir Plastik recyceln.

reduzieren and verringern are close in meaning (“to reduce / to decrease”), but:

reduzieren
- Very common, a bit more neutral and often used in technical, scientific, and everyday contexts.
verringern
- Slightly more formal or stylistically elevated, but still common.

In normal conversation, reduzieren is probably the most typical choice here.

Why do we repeat wir in indem wir Plastik recyceln? In English we just say “by recycling plastic”.

German does not form this construction with a -ing form like English.
Instead, it always uses a full finite clause with its own subject and verb.

So in German you must say:

indem wir Plastik recyceln
(literally: by (the fact that) we recycle plastic)

You cannot omit the subject:

✗ indem Plastik recyceln → incorrect

Every finite clause in German (except in some special cases like imperatives) needs an explicit subject, so wir has to be repeated.