Grammar fix
reduce waste
cut down trash
to use fewer things or be more careful so that less rubbish or unwanted material is produced
collocationB1common
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- Many people try to reduce waste by bringing their own bags to the supermarket.daily life
- One way to reduce waste in cities is to encourage people to compost food scraps instead of throwing them away.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: reduce waste (by doing something)
WrongWe need to reduce the wastes.
RightWe need to reduce waste.
'Waste' (rubbish) is uncountable — no 'the', no plural.
Patternreduce waste (by doing something)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Minimise the generation of refuse' is jargon; 'reduce waste' is plain.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
reduce wastereduce wastecut down on wastereduce food wasteless waste
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'recycle', which means to process used materials. 'Reduce waste' is about creating less rubbish in the first place.