Anyone who's ever stood in front of trash-sorting containers and wondered whether their empty yogurt cup is recyclable will appreciate Oscar, an AI-driven system that scans your throwaways and tells you where to toss them.
Why it matters: "Consumer error" is a top contributor to the abysmal rate of recycling, which the Environmental Protection Agency most recently pegged at 32.1% in 2018, down from 34.7% in 2015.