How do I translate Recyclingrohstoffe into English?

If you've been following along to these tips all week, you won't be surprised to learn that the answer here is, in fact, not recycling raw materials.

Oh, so close, though. No, in English, we talk about recycled raw materials.

You will also come across recycled commodities and secondary raw materials as synonyms.

While we are on the topic of words about waste and recycling, let's talk about Alt-, the three-letter prefix that German uses to denote that a material or product is at the end of its working life.

In English, we use a variety of descriptors depending on the noun. Consider:

Altreifen – used tyres/tires

Altglasscherben - cullet

Altmetalle – scrap metals

Altautos – end-of-life vehicles

Altlasten – contaminated/brownfield sites

Altkunststoffe – plastic scrap

Altkleider – second-hand clothing

Altgeräte – waste electrical and electronic equipment/e-waste

Altpapier – recovered paper

Of course, you could use 'waste' in front of many of these nouns, but if you want your English to sound natural, try some of the options above.