Oddzielamy makulaturę od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła.

Oddzielamy means we separate.

Its dictionary form is oddzielać, which is an imperfective verb. The perfective partner is oddzielić.

So:

• oddzielać = to be separating / to separate regularly or generally
• oddzielić = to separate once, completely

In this sentence, oddzielamy sounds natural for a general action or rule, like we separate waste paper from plastic and glass.

The ending -my marks 1st person plural in the present tense, so it means we.

With oddzielać:

• oddzielam = I separate
• oddzielasz = you separate
• oddziela = he/she/it separates
• oddzielamy = we separate
• oddzielacie = you all separate
• oddzielają = they separate

Because the verb already shows we, Polish does not need the pronoun my here.

Because makulatura is the direct object of the verb, and with this verb it goes into the accusative case.

• nominative: makulatura
• accusative: makulaturę

So:

• Makulatura jest tutaj. = The waste paper is here.
• Oddzielamy makulaturę... = We separate the waste paper...

This is a very common pattern in Polish: the thing directly affected by the action often goes into the accusative.

Makulatura usually means waste paper, scrap paper, or paper for recycling. It is a common word in contexts like recycling and sorting trash.

It is not just any paper in general. It specifically refers to paper that is being collected, reused, or recycled.

Because the verb oddzielać often uses the pattern:

oddzielać coś od czegoś = to separate something from something

So in this sentence:

• makulaturę = the thing being separated
• od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła = from plastics and glass

This is the normal construction with this meaning.

The basic phrase is:

• tworzywa sztuczne = plastics / plastic materials

After od, Polish requires the genitive case, so both words change:

• nominative: tworzywa sztuczne
• genitive: tworzyw sztucznych

That is why the sentence has:

od tworzyw sztucznych

This is a good example of an adjective matching the noun in case and number.

For the same reason: od requires the genitive.

• nominative: szkło = glass
• genitive: szkła

So:

• od szkła = from glass

In the full phrase, od governs both nouns:

• od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła

Yes. In Polish, one preposition can govern more than one noun if they are joined by i (and).

So:

od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła

means:

from plastics and glass

You do not need to repeat od before szkła, though you could in some contexts for emphasis or clarity.

Tworzywa sztuczne is a more formal and precise term, especially in recycling, public signs, and official language. It corresponds to plastics.

Plastik is also common in everyday speech, but it can sound less technical or less exact depending on context.

So on bins, notices, or instructions, tworzywa sztuczne is very typical.

Because Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.

• oddzielamy already means we separate

So my oddzielamy is possible, but usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis, for example:

• My oddzielamy makulaturę, a oni nie. = We separate waste paper, but they do not.

In a neutral sentence, leaving out my is the normal choice.

It can be understood as either, depending on context, but most naturally it sounds like a general practice, instruction, or habit.

Because oddzielać is imperfective, oddzielamy can mean:

• we separate in general
• we are separating right now

In a recycling context, the general meaning is usually the intended one.

Yes, sometimes.

• oddzielamy = we separate
• segregujemy = we sort / segregate

In recycling contexts, segregować odpady is very common for sorting waste. But oddzielać ... od ... focuses specifically on separating one thing from another.

So the two verbs are related, but not identical:

• segregujemy odpady = we sort waste
• oddzielamy makulaturę od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła = we separate waste paper from plastics and glass

The structure is:

Oddzielamy + accusative + od + genitive

In this sentence:

• Oddzielamy = we separate
• makulaturę = accusative, the thing being separated
• od tworzyw sztucznych i szkła = genitive after od, the things it is separated from

So the pattern is:

We separate X from Y

which in Polish becomes:

Oddzielamy X od Y