In the near future, if you live in or near New York City or Paris, you?ll be able to buy ice cream or shampoo in a reusable container. When you?ve eaten your tub of Haagen-Dazs, for example, you?ll put the sleek stainless steel package in your personal reuse bin instead of your rubbish bin. Then it will be picked up for delivery back to a cleaning and sterilization facility so that it can be refilled with more ice cream for another customer. Loop is the milkman of the past reimagined. www.loopstore.com

Now, with the added advantage of satellite technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence and cloud-based geospatial technology it has been possible to create a new way to value Australian agriculture. This new service from Digital Agriculture Services is set to revolutionise how decisions and investments are made in agriculture. https://digitalagricultureservices.com/

The Royal Botanical Gardens apparently have a very tight budget. They open at 7am, which is way too late for most of the city dwellers who would like to walk or run through the fabulous parklands as part of their daily exercise. Over many years we have been told that the Gardens cannot afford to hire rangers who safe guard the precious plants. Apparently, plants do get stolen!!! (My sub-idea is please stop stealing plants from the Botanic Gardens!) Instead of hiring expensive human labour, the Gardens should consider buying drones to monitor visitors. The drones would be equipped with heat sensor cameras to follow visitors, especially around areas where plants are most likely to be stolen. The drones would also have small pumps with the ability to microinject a smelly and bright colored substance on the offenders. The substance would be non-toxic, but the smell and colour would hang around for a couple of days to make the life of the thief especially uncomfortable. A single

Zero-packaging shops, sometimes known as zero-waste grocery stores, allow customers to bring and refill their own containers. They offer food products (cereals, pasta, oils) and even household products (soap, dishwashing powder). You simply bring your own jars and containers and buy as little or as much as you need. These new businesses demonstrate how products can be offered without packaging. In doing so they provide both environmental and economic benefits. www.sbs.com.au/news/zero-packaging-stores-show-we-can-kick-our-plastic-addiction

A device that automatically switches supplier when cheaper deals become available is set to revolutionise the home energy market. The launch of Labrador comes as more and more people are changing their energy companies. The company?s free service is primarily targeted at the growing number of households which have smart meters, that automate readings. With investors including the Daily Mail and venture capital firm Hambro Perks, Labrador is considered one of the UK?s most exciting startups. www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/11/labrador-switch-energy-suppliers

This year you'll be able to buy a jumper from Ministry of Supply stores that will adjust to your size on the spot, using only heat. That means you could take a medium off the shelf, and after Ministry of Supply takes your measurements, an in-store robotic machine will use a heat gun to adjust the jumper to your size that you can see while you wait. www.fastcompany.com/90281007/ministry-of-supply-will-tailor-this-sweater-to-your-body-in-minutes