It’s the first H&M store where customers have the opportunity to rent selected skirts and dresses from its Conscious Exclusive collections.

The store also offers customers the possibility to repair old fashion favourites.

Maria Östblom Head of womenswear design H&M, said: “We are really excited to try out rentals for the first time and inspire our customers to look on fashion in a circular way.

“Our Conscious Exclusive collections are made from sustainably sourced materials, so we feel they are perfect to kick off this trial with.”

To further inspire customers to reuse and recycle, the store will also offer repair services with an atelier where you can get fashion favourites mended or upgraded.

Britain will throw out 5 million Christmas puddings

Ceuta Group, which works alongside many food and drink brands, has analysed food waste statistics to highlight just how much gets thrown away at Christmas.

One of the most alarming stats shows that Britain bins 7.1 million pigs in blankets. That is 106,500kg in total, enough to match the weight of a 105,000kg blue whale.

Britain will also throw out 5 million Christmas puddings over Christmas, enough to stretch from Glasgow to Northampton.

We pour away 5 million litres of gravy too, which is enough to fill two Olympic sized swimming pools.

Edwin Bessant, CEO of Ceuta Group said: “It is everybody’s job to reduce our impact on the environment. Changes are already taking place in the food & drink and health & personal care sectors, and it’s great to see some of the latest brand innovation that are coming through to reduce waste.”

“More needs to be done, however, and Ceuta Group is working with its partners to promote ways of integrating sustainability into their business strategy. After all, from consumer choices to retailers and brand owners, everyone has a role to play to make their Christmas more sustainable.”

UK’s first automated compressor recycling system

The UK’s first compressor dismantling facility has been installed at the Environcom recycling plant in Grantham.

The new machinery, which is only the second of its kind in Europe, enables the safe dismantling of compressors from refrigerators and other cooling appliances.

The machine, christened CARRIE (Compressor Automated Removal and Recycling Equipment), has been introduced to raise standards on compressor recovery within the UK and will also reduce the number of compressors currently being exported and recycled in uncontrolled environments.

CARRIE will enable the valuable, raw metals found inside compressors to be extracted and recovered within the UK.

Producers of refrigerators and cooling appliances will also benefit from the new facility, as it will provide an evidenced audit trail for a greater volume of compressors.

Up until now, there has been no capacity to dismantle compressors in the UK and limited capacity in Europe. Most compressors have been shipped outside of their country of origin, and delivered to countries where recycling is not undertaken to the same standards as within the EU.