sort out rubbish vs sort rubbish (2025)

Now that you have explained what you are talking about ...

You sort your rubbish into various categories.

aleksw said:

For me there is only one context

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Well, a friend of mine first sorts her rubbish out into things that can be used for playthings for her young son, and things that can't.

Hermione Golightly said:

Where I live, we 'sort' household rubbish into various categories. 'Sorting the rubbish into categories' means the same as 'separating' it into categories'.
We sort the rubbish and we sort one category from another; we also separate one category from another.
Of course, an essential part of the 'sorting/separating' process is definitely 'selecting' and, in a way, 'choosing'.

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Segregate-select-sort-separate rubbish

Can I use it interchangeably with "sort out" in that context?

I sort my rubbish into various categories.
I sort OUT my rubbish into various categories.

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I have found articles with "sort out" in the title:
"Sorting out the rubbish"
"ONE BIN IS RUBBISH. SORT IT OUT."

aleksw said:

Can I use it interchangeably with "sort out" in that context?

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No. I could go out to my shed and sort out the rubbish. That would leave me two things - tidy shelves stacked with things I want to keep and a pile of rubbish. I could then sort the rubbish into recyclables and other waste.

Hmmm if I good understand you:

sort out = clean up

so these sentences from websites are incorrect:

It had already been very successful in persuading many residents, particularly those who live in the detached houses and terraces in the brough, to separate their waste. But very little recycling was happening on some of its publicity owned housing estates, where many tenants made little attempt to SORT OUT their rubbish into cans, glass and paper.

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Finnish what you start: SORT OUT your rubbish before dumping it

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It’s not enough to have the rubbish ready waiting to be collected for disposal; responsible homeowners take a time to SORT OUT the rubbish so that things are easier for the disposer.

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??

All three contain errors other than what I would consider an incorrect use of "sort out".

No, "sort out" does not mean "clean up" in the context I gave. It means to separate that which is rubbish from that which is not rubbish and then to put it out, where out means out of the place where I keep that which is not rubbish.

Could explain why in sentences the usage of 'sort out' is correct?

It had already been very successful in persuading many residents, particularly those who live in the detached houses and terraces in the brough, to separate their waste. But very little recycling was happening on some of its publicity owned housing estates, where many tenants made little attempt to SORT OUT their rubbish into cans, glass and paper.

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Finnish what you start: SORT OUT your rubbish before dumping it

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It’s not enough to have the rubbish ready waiting to be collected for disposal; responsible homeowners take a time to SORT OUT the rubbish so that things are easier for the disposer.

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It is interesting, maybe 'sort out rubbish' isn't so popular because even on BBC website I can find that:

About 60,000 householders in Torbay will be required to sort out more of their own rubbish for kerbside collections.

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Kerbside scheme saves waste fines

And tenants of the apartment blocks here often get together at a set time each week to help each other sort out and recycle their rubbish.

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BBC News - South Korea's enthusiasm for recycling

But of course - more popular is 'sort rubbish' as @Andygc and @tunaafi said Thank you guys

Hello,

I’ve hesitated to jump in here because it’s obvious from the word “rubbish” where I would use “trash” or “garbage” that the examples are from BE. However, perhaps my comments on the use of prepositions in phrasal verbs might be of use to someone reading this thread.

“Out” in phrasal verbs generally carries one of two connotations: 1) to remove, or 2) to extend outwards.

That’s why some people, hearing “sort out the trash/rubbish”, understand “select only that which is trash and remove it from the rest”. Others might hear “sort the rubbish using an extended process that involves spreading it out into various piles”.

Neither is inherently right or wrong, it’s about patterns of usage and these vary over time and between regions. If you have mainstream sources using a particular phrase the way you have in mind, and for the same audience, then by all means go ahead and use it with confidence. If on the other hand you perceive ambiguity or that different persons might have differing takes on it, you might consider adding some clarifying context or rewording the phrase to remove all doubt.

Hope I’ve helped you figure this out.