People who . . . . . . . . items like bottles and cans . . . . . . . . the world's resources.

Solution (By Examveda Team)

The sentence talks about a general truth or a common situation, so we should use the present tense.

Let's look at the options:
* Option A: "aren't recycling/wasted" - "aren't recycling" could work, but "wasted" is past tense, not present, and doesn't fit the general truth idea.
* Option B: "didn't recycle/waste" - Both verbs are in the past tense. It implies a completed action in the past, which doesn't fit the general truth.
* Option C: "haven't been recycling/were wasting" - "haven't been recycling" describes an action that started in the past and continues to the present. It doesn't make sense. Also, "were wasting" is past continuous, which again does not fit the context.
* Option D: "don't recycle/are wasting" - "don't recycle" shows a general behavior, and "are wasting" indicates a continuous action happening now as a result of not recycling. This makes sense.
* Option E: "haven't recycled/wasted" - "haven't recycled" is present perfect, implying a finished action with relevance to the present. "wasted" is in the past. It does not fit the context.
Therefore, Option D is the correct answer. People who don't recycle items like bottles and cans are wasting the world's resources.