10 Korean Phrases for Taking Out the Trash (분리수거)

Quick answer: In Korea, household trash is sorted. General waste goes in a paid city bag called a 종량제 봉투 (jongnyangje bongtu), food scraps go out separately as 음식물 쓰레기 (food waste), and recyclables are split by material. The whole routine is called 분리수거 (bullisugeo), and the one sentence that solves almost every problem is 이거 어디에 버려요? — "Where do I throw this out?"

Nothing marks a newcomer in Korea faster than putting everything in one bag and leaving it by the door. Within a day, someone — a neighbor, the building's security office, the landlord — will come find you. It isn't rudeness; it's that the rules are real, they're enforced by the district office, and everyone in the building shares the consequences.

The good news: the language of trash is short, repetitive, and the same everywhere. Learn these ten lines and you can handle your own bin, buy the right bag, and understand the person who stops you at the bins.

1. 이거 어디에 버려요? — "Where do I throw this out?"

This is the workhorse. Hold up the thing, say the sentence, and nine times out of ten the other person will just point. 버리다 means "throw away / discard," and it covers everything from a yogurt cup to an old chair. If you want it softer, use 이거 어디에 버리면 돼요? or 이거 어디에 버리면 될까요? — "Where should I throw this out?"

2. 종량제 봉투 어디서 팔아요? — "Where do they sell the city trash bags?"

You can't use any old bag for general waste. Each district sells its own official bag, and the price of the bag is the garbage fee. Convenience stores and supermarkets sell them, usually at the counter rather than on a shelf, so you have to ask.

3. 20리터짜리 한 장 주세요. — "One 20-liter one, please."

Bags come in sizes — 10리터, 20리터, 50리터 — and the counter for a flat bag is 장. The suffix -짜리 means "the one worth/of that size," so 20리터짜리 is "the 20-liter one." For a one-person apartment, a 10- or 20-liter bag is plenty.

4. 음식물 쓰레기는 어디에 버려요? — "Where does food waste go?"

Food scraps never go in the general bag. Depending on the building, they go into a special small bag, a locked communal bin, or a machine you tap a card against. Ask once when you move in and you'll never have to ask again — this is also a perfectly natural first conversation with a neighbor, along the lines of the greetings you'd use when you move into a new place.

5. 이거 재활용되나요? — "Is this recyclable?"

재활용 is "recycling," and 재활용되다 asks whether something "counts / can be recycled" — note that it's written as one word, with no space before 되나요. Koreans ask this constantly among themselves, because the borderline cases are genuinely confusing — greasy pizza boxes, paper cups, broken ceramics. Asking does not make you look clueless; it makes you look like someone who cares about doing it right.

6. 분리수거 날이 언제예요? — "What day is recycling day?"

Many apartment complexes and neighborhoods only put recyclables out on certain evenings. 날 is "day," so you can swap the noun: 쓰레기 버리는 날이 언제예요? ("What day is trash day?"). If you're in a large apartment complex, the answer is often "any day, in the basement" — but ask anyway.

7. 박스는 접어서 버려 주세요. — "Please flatten the boxes before you throw them out."

This one you'll hear rather than say, especially if you order a lot online and the cardboard piles up. 접어서 is "fold it and then…," and -아/어 주세요 makes it a polite request. Peel the tape and the shipping label off too — and if the word on the box confuses you, here's the difference between 택배 and 배달.

8. 여기에 버리시면 안 돼요. — "You can't throw that out here."

The honorific -시- inside 버리시면 is a clue: this is a correction, but a polite one. It lands less like a scolding and more like "heads up, wrong spot." The blunt version, 여기에 버리지 마세요, is stronger, and strangers usually choose the softer one. The right reply is just 아, 죄송합니다. 어디에 버리면 돼요?

9. 대형 폐기물은 스티커를 붙여야 해요. — "Bulky waste needs a sticker on it."

대형 폐기물 is furniture, mattresses, appliances — anything too big for a bag. You pay a fee and get a sticker to attach before you put the item out; how you apply varies by district, so the 주민센터 (community service center) or your building office is the place to ask. Without the sticker, the item sits there and someone comes looking for you.

10. 쓰레기 좀 버리고 올게요. — "I'm going to go take the trash out."

The domestic version, said to a roommate or family member on the way out the door. -고 올게요 means "I'll do it and come back," which is why it sounds casual and quick rather than like an announcement. Drop the 요 for 반말 with close friends: 쓰레기 좀 버리고 올게.

The sorting words, in one table

At the bins you'll see these categories. Learning the nouns means you can read the situation even when nobody's around to ask.

One habit that makes all of it easier: 헹궈서 버려요 ("rinse it, then throw it out"). A sauce-coated container isn't recyclable, and in summer the smell is its own punishment.

FAQ

What does 분리수거 mean in Korean?

분리수거 means "separated collection" — sorting your household waste into paper, plastic, cans, glass, film plastic and food waste instead of throwing it all out together. It's used as both a noun and a 하다-verb: 분리수거를 해요 ("I sort the recycling"). In daily speech, 분리수거하러 가요 simply means "I'm going down to the bins."

What is a 종량제 봉투 and where do I buy one?

A 종량제 봉투 is the official pay-as-you-throw bag for general household waste. Each district issues its own, and the price you pay for the bag covers your garbage fee, so general trash in any other bag may not be collected. Buy them at convenience stores and supermarkets by asking at the counter: 종량제 봉투 주세요.

How do you say "Where do I throw this away?" in Korean?

Say 이거 어디에 버려요? If you want to sound a little softer, 이거 어디에 버리면 돼요? means "Where should I throw this out?" Both are polite 해요체 and fine with a neighbor, a shop worker or a building manager.

Practice

1. You're at a convenience store and need one 20-liter city bag. Say it in Korean.
2. You're holding a plastic tub and want to know if it can be recycled. Ask.
3. Ask a neighbor what day recycling goes out.
4. Tell your roommate you're running the trash down (해요체).
5. What is 대형 폐기물, and what do you need before you put it out?