How to rent an apartment or buy a house in English?

Welcome to the neighborhood! So the black bin is for regular trash — anything that can't be recycled. The blue bin is for recycling — paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, and cans. Make sure you rinse out the containers before tossing them in, otherwise the whole batch can get rejected.

欢迎来到社区！黑色桶是普通垃圾——不能回收的东西。蓝色桶是可回收物——纸张、纸箱、塑料瓶和罐头。扔进去之前记得冲洗干净容器，不然整批可能会被拒收。

Trash pickup is every Tuesday, and recycling is every other Tuesday. You can put your bins out the night before after six p.m., but you need to bring them back in by the end of the day on Tuesday. The HOA will actually send you a warning if you leave them out too long. Oh, and make sure the lids are closed — if stuff is sticking out, they won't take it.

垃圾每周二收，回收物隔周二收一次。你可以前一天晚上6点以后把桶放出去，但周二当天结束前要拉回来。如果放太久，HOA 会发警告的。对了，盖子要盖好——如果东西露出来，他们不会收。

For bulky items, you need to schedule a special pickup through the city's website or call three-one-one. It's usually free once or twice a year, but after that there's a fee — I think it's around twenty-five bucks per item. They'll give you a pickup date and you just leave it by the curb that morning. Some people also post free stuff on Facebook Marketplace or put it on the curb with a 'free' sign — it's usually gone within an hour around here.

大件物品需要在市政府网站上预约专门收运，或者打311。通常每年免费一两次，之后有费用——我记得大概每件25美元。他们会给你一个收运日期，那天早上放路边就行。有些人也会在 Facebook Marketplace 上发免费信息，或者放路边贴个 'free' 标签——在咱们这片通常一小时内就被人拿走了。

💡 美国有一种独特的 'curb culture'——把不要的东西放路边贴 'free' 标签，别人可以自取。这不是丢脸的事，而是被视为环保和实用的做法。在中国，旧家具一般卖给收废品的或找人搬走。

No no no, definitely don't do that — it's actually illegal in most states to throw electronics in the regular trash. Batteries especially are considered hazardous waste. Best Buy and Staples both take old electronics for free. For batteries, most grocery stores have a drop-off bin near the entrance. The city also does free e-waste collection events a few times a year — there's one coming up next month I think.

千万别！在大多数州，把电子产品扔普通垃圾是违法的。电池尤其算危险废物。Best Buy 和 Staples 都免费收旧电子产品。电池的话，大部分超市入口附近都有回收箱。市里每年也有几次免费电子垃圾回收活动——下个月好像就有一次。

That means something in your recycling bin shouldn't have been there. Common mistakes are putting in plastic bags — those can't be recycled curbside. Also greasy pizza boxes, food-stained containers, or Styrofoam. When the recycling truck spots contamination, they sometimes reject the whole bin or flag your address. First time's usually just a warning, but if it keeps happening they can fine you or even take away your recycling bin.

意思是你的回收桶里放了不该放的东西。常见错误是放了塑料袋——路边回收不收塑料袋。还有油腻的披萨盒、有食物残渍的容器、或泡沫塑料。回收车发现污染物时，有时会拒收整桶或标记你的地址。第一次通常只是警告，但如果一直这样，可以罚款甚至收走你的回收桶。

Super common mistake — don't feel bad. Plastic bags jam the sorting machines at the recycling facility, so they can't go in the curbside bin. Most grocery stores like Walmart, Target, and Trader Joe's have a plastic bag drop-off right by the entrance. Just collect them and bring them next time you go shopping. Honestly, the best move is to switch to reusable bags — a lot of cities are banning plastic bags anyway.

这个错误太常见了——别不好意思。塑料袋会卡住回收站的分拣机器，所以不能放路边回收桶。大部分超市像 Walmart、Target、Trader Joe's 入口都有塑料袋回收箱。攒起来下次买菜时带去就行。说实话，最好的办法是用可重复使用的袋子——很多城市反正也在禁塑料袋了。