Afval sorteren in De Slimste Mens ter Wereld
A2 Dutch listening practice · Flemish Dutch · Curated for beginners
How does “afval sorteren” work in the Netherlands and Belgium?
Afval sorteren (“sorting waste”) is the at-home recycling system most Dutch and Belgian households are legally required to follow. Households separate trash into multiple streams: PMD (plastic, metal, drink cartons), GFT (kitchen and garden waste), oud papier, glas, textiel, and restafval. The Netherlands and Belgium both run kerb-side pickup on a fixed weekly rotation, with municipality-issued color-coded bins or bags. The country averages a household-recycling rate near 60%, among the highest in the EU.
In this clip, a Slimste Mens contestant is teased about their sorting habits: “Doe je dat afval sorteren? Jazeker. Met linker zak heb ik vaak meer de grondachtige producten. En rechts metaal en baksteen.”
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A2 Dutch listening practice listening practice?
General Dutch frequency
Spoken Dutch frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Dutch and Belgian municipal-recycling content (Milieu Centraal, Recycle.be, Fost Plus)
- ▸In Dutch sustainability and circular-economy writing (NOS, De Correspondent, Trouw)
- ▸In Dutch primary-school environmental content (Het Klokhuis, Schooltv, Greenpeace Nederland)
- ▸In Belgian and Dutch comedy about the sorting rules (De Avondshow, De Slimste Mens, Toren C)