Learn Hardcore Russian: В нашем доме начали сортировать мусор, и появилась отдельная корзина для переработки. - In our building they started sorting trash, and a separate bin for recycling appeared.

дом = any residential building (a detached house, a block of flats, etc.)
Context decides. Sorting trash and having a special bin is typically something done in a shared building, so it’s naturally understood as “our building / our block” here, not just a single-family house.

There is no subject in «начали сортировать мусор». Who is actually “starting to sort the trash”?

Russian often leaves the subject out when it’s obvious or unimportant.

«Начали сортировать мусор» literally is “(they) started sorting the trash,” where “they” could mean:

the residents of the building,
the building management,
or people in general in that building.

This is a common pattern: a 3rd person plural past tense (начали) with no explicit subject, implying “they (some people)” without naming them.

Why is «сортировать» in the infinitive after «начали»? Could you use another form?

With verbs like начать / начинать (“to begin”), Russian normally uses the infinitive for the action that begins:

начали сортировать = “(they) started to sort / started sorting.”

You would not say начали сортируют мусор – that’s incorrect.
The standard structure is: начать + infinitive (начали сортировать, начну работать, начали читать, etc.).

Why is «сортировать мусор» and not something like a noun phrase «сортировка мусора»?

Both exist, but they’re used differently:

сортировать мусор – verb phrase, “to sort trash,” focuses on the action.
сортировка мусора – noun phrase, “sorting of trash / trash sorting,” more like a process/measure as a concept.

In this sentence we’re talking about people starting to do an action, so the verb сортировать is the most natural choice.

Why is «мусор» singular, and can you ever say «мусоры»?

Мусор is a mass noun in Russian, like trash / garbage in English:

сортировать мусор – “to sort trash.”
It’s normally used only in the singular when you mean trash in general.

The plural мусоры exists but is rare and usually means “different kinds of trash” or appears in joking / non‑standard speech. For everyday “garbage” you should stick to singular мусор.

Why is it «появилась отдельная корзина» and not «появился отдельная корзина»?

The past tense verb must agree in gender with the subject:

корзина is feminine (ends in -а),
so the verb появиться takes the feminine form появилась.

If the subject were masculine, you’d say появился стол (“a table appeared”), and if neuter, появилось окно (“a window appeared”).

Why does the verb «появилась» come before «отдельная корзина»? Is that the normal word order?

Both orders are possible:

появилась отдельная корзина
отдельная корзина появилась

Here, verb + subject (появилась корзина) is very natural when you introduce something new that has just appeared. It puts a bit of focus on the fact of appearing.

Отдельная корзина появилась is also correct, just a slightly different rhythm and emphasis. Russian word order is flexible, and both are idiomatic.

What exactly does «отдельная корзина» mean here? Is it “separate,” “another,” or “new”?

Отдельная корзина literally means a separate / distinct bin. In this context it implies:

not the usual trash bin,
an extra bin that is specifically for recycling.

It does imply that it is another / new bin, but the key idea is separation by function: one bin for general trash, and a separate one for recycling.

What does «для переработки» literally mean, and why is «переработки» in that form?

Для always takes the genitive case. So:

base noun: переработка (“processing, recycling”),
genitive: переработки.

Для переработки literally is “for processing / for recycling”.
So корзина для переработки = “a bin for recycling.” The genitive переработки is just the normal case required after the preposition для.

Does «переработка» always mean “recycling trash,” or can it mean other things?

Переработка is more general: “reprocessing / processing / reworking.”

It can mean, for example:

переработка сырья – processing raw materials,
переработка нефти – oil refining,
переработка текста – rewriting / reworking a text.

When used with trash or waste (мусор, отходы), in modern everyday speech it usually corresponds to “recycling.”

Could I say «В нашем доме начали сортировать мусор, и поставили отдельную корзину для переработки» instead of «появилась отдельная корзина»?

Yes, that would be grammatically correct, but the nuance changes slightly:

появилась отдельная корзина – “a separate bin appeared,” neutral about who put it there; just states the new situation.
поставили отдельную корзину – “(they) placed/put a separate bin,” highlighting the action of putting it there by some people (“they”).

Both are natural; появилась is a bit more impersonal and descriptive.