Every year, improperly disposed lithium-ion batteries pose hidden dangers at waste processing facilities. These tiny power sources—sometimes no bigger than a coin—can spark fires, damage equipment, and harm the environment. When crushed or punctured during sorting, they may ignite or even explode. Spotting them in a pile of scrap metal is nearly impossible.

Juno Technology uses a wet processing system to reclaim contaminated fiber.

Australian engineers to make stronger concrete with old coffee grounds. Researchers have given tons of waste coffee grounds a “double shot” at life, by infusing it into concrete—where it not only increases material strength by 30%, but also could be a significantly more sustainable alternative to the mined sand on which the concrete industry depends. In Australia alone, where the study was based, shops and households produce around 75,000 tons of coffee grounds every year.