Richard Hill Sep 14, 2015:

@Charles Not too late, at least for the asker if he hasn't delivered yet. Having looked at the second definition in my Oxford English dictionary, I have to agree, gesture is actually terrible in this case: "an action performed for show in the knowledge that it will have no effect."

Charles Davis Sep 14, 2015:

@Muriel Maybe people don't refer to sorting or separating garbage in the U.S., but they must in fact do it. Merely putting plastic, paper, glass etc. into one bin and general garbage into another is an act of sorting.

Charles Davis Sep 14, 2015:

A bit late now, but... Just for the record, I don't like "simple gesture" for "sencillo gesto". The use of "gesture" is English is more limited than that of "gesto" in Spanish. Here, the latter just means "acto o hecho" (DRAE def. 5). In English, gesture means either a physical movement that communicates something or an act that shows a good intention but is implicitly not of much practical value. To call sorting rubbish a "gesture" implies that it shows a willingness to take ecological issues seriously but doesn't actually contribute much, which may be true, to a degree, but is not what is meant here. I would say "the simple act of sorting".

Manuel Alejandro Arciniegas Rivera (asker) Sep 13, 2015:

It's a translation for Europe thanks for your help

Muriel Vasconcellos Sep 12, 2015:

But we don't 'sort' - at least in the U.S. At least here in the U.S., there are signs everywhere saying "Recycle!" No one ever talks about sorting because there are always bins available. One is labeled 'Trash' and the other says 'Recycle' and you put your recyclables in the 'Recycle' bin. That's true at home as well. There's always a separate bin, so there's never any sorting involved. Plus, no one every SAYS 'sort'. People just say 'Recycle!'

Richard Hill Sep 12, 2015:

Sorting/separation is just one (the first) step in the recycling chain, starting at home, followed by collection or drop-off at special banks, then further sorting/cleaning and ending at reprocessing and re-manufacturing plants, so sorting/separation does need mentioning, and this campaign is clearly aimed at encouraging householders to separate their waste to facilitate the recycling process further down the chain.

“Find out how to sort your waste and recycling and what goes in each bin, bag and box.” http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/waste-recycling