akikan to youki wo susugi, tubusite, gomi wo genryousimasu.

空き缶 と 容器 を すすぎ、つぶして、ごみ を 減量します。
is read:

あきかん と ようき を すすぎ、つぶして、ごみ を げんりょうします。

A version without learner spaces would normally be:

空き缶と容器をすすぎ、つぶして、ごみを減量します。

Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is clear from context.

In a sentence like this, especially on a sign or in trash-sorting instructions, the implied subject is usually one of these:

• you, the reader
• we or people in general

So even though it literally looks like a statement, it often functions like a polite instruction: Rinse and crush empty cans and containers to reduce waste.

空き缶 means empty can or used can.

• 缶 = can, tin
• 空き adds the idea that it is empty

So 空き缶 is the normal word for a can that has been used up and is now trash or recycling.

If you said just 缶, that would only mean a can in general, not necessarily an empty one.

容器 means container.

It is a broad, somewhat formal word. In recycling or garbage instructions, it can refer to things like:

• plastic food containers
• bottles
• jars
• trays
• other packaging containers

The exact items included depend on the local trash-sorting rules. So 容器 is a general category word, not one single specific type of container.

They show how the sentence is put together.

• 空き缶 と 容器
  と links the two nouns: empty cans and containers

• 空き缶と容器 を すすぎ、つぶして
  this を marks empty cans and containers as the objects of すすぎ and つぶして

• ごみ を 減量します
  this second を marks garbage / waste as the object of 減量します

So the sentence shifts objects partway through:

1. empty cans and containers are rinsed and crushed
2. waste is reduced

すすぎ is the continuative form / stem form of すすぐ.

• dictionary form: すすぐ
• て-form: すすいで
• stem/continuative: すすぎ

In formal written Japanese, especially instructions and notices, the stem form can be used to connect actions:

• すすぎ、つぶして、…

This has a concise, written, slightly official feel.

If the sentence were more conversational, many speakers would naturally say:

• すすいで、つぶして、…

So すすぎ is not wrong or strange here; it is just a more formal written style.

Yes. It can happen, especially in formal or instructional writing.

Japanese can connect actions with:

• the stem/continuative form
• the て-form

So a sequence like:

• すすぎ、つぶして、減量します

is acceptable and sounds like procedural writing.

That said, in everyday speech many people would make them match more simply, for example:

• すすいで、つぶして、…

So the mixed pattern is normal, but it feels more written and official than casual speech.

すすぐ means to rinse.

It usually means washing something quickly with water to remove residue, rather than thoroughly scrubbing it.

In recycling contexts, it often means:

• rinse out a can
• rinse out a container
• remove leftover food or drink

So it is a very natural verb here.

つぶして is the て-form of つぶす, which means to crush, flatten, or smash down.

In this sentence, it means:

• flatten the cans/containers
• crush them so they take up less space

In trash and recycling instructions, つぶす usually means compress or flatten, not violently destroy.

It can mean weight loss in some contexts, but not always.

減量 basically means reduction in amount, quantity, or volume.
So in this sentence:

• ごみを減量します

means reduce the amount of waste.

This sounds more formal and official than the simpler:

• ごみを減らします

Both can mean reduce garbage/waste, but 減量します is especially common in public notices, administrative language, and campaigns.

Because this sentence presents waste reduction as something achieved by an action.

• ごみを減量します = reduce the waste
• ごみが減ります = the waste decreases

The first one is transitive: someone does something to reduce waste.
The second is intransitive: waste decreases on its own or as a result.

Here, the sentence is about a procedure:

1. rinse
2. crush
3. reduce waste

So using ごみを減量します fits that idea well.

On signs, notices, and public instructions, Japanese often uses polite non-past forms like します to sound less direct and more official.

So:

• 減量します

can function like a polite instructional statement, even if it literally looks like we/you reduce waste.

Compare the tone:

• してください = direct request: please do it
• しましょう = inviting tone: let’s do it
• します = neutral, official, instructional style

So this wording is common for rules, procedures, and public guidance.

Normally, Japanese is written without spaces.

So the standard version would be:

空き缶と容器をすすぎ、つぶして、ごみを減量します。

The spaces in your example were almost certainly added:

• for learners
• for readability
• for teaching materials

They are not part of normal Japanese writing.