In 1985 when Coventry’s Crow Recycling was founded Madonna was at number one with Into the Groove, the miners’ strike ended in defeat for the unions and MPs salaries were raised to £24,250. 

40 years later Britain’s last deep coal mine has closed, MPs earn £93,904, Madonna is a mum of six in her 60s and Crow Recycling is still going strong. 

Chairman of trustees Bill Smith said: “It’s great to celebrate our 40 years of  helping the environment and helping people with various learning and physical disabilities. 

“Times have not always been easy for Crow and there have been many occasions when we thought we would have to give up but we are still here.” 

Crow was founded by Barbara Cowling in 1985 at the Barras Heath Wholesale Market. The organisation started out as the Big Green Business Machine later renamed Coventry Recycling of Waste, Crow for short. 

Barbara was a pioneer of recycling at a time before kerbside collections. She was determined to reduce the amount of recyclable materials sent to landfill or incineration. Even before Crow began she used to collect newspapers, in Earlsdon, where she lived, to divert them from landfill. 

Crow teamed up with Coventry City Council’s social services providing work placements and training for adults with learning difficulties.  

In a time before kerbside recycling collections the best options for recycling cans and bottles  were supermarket can bins. Crow was responsible for emptying them and crushing and baling the cans to sell on for recycling. 

Crow also processed and recycled office waste paper from a host of large organisations and companies including local councils, universities and automotive giants. That included destroying confidential office waste paper, a service Crow continues to provide. 

A partnership with Henley College saw Crow service users completing courses in English, maths and computing. School visits for pupils learning about recycling began at this time and have carried on ever since. 

When the Barras Heath Wholesale Market was earmarked for closure it was time to look for new premises. Thanks to a large National Lottery grant in 2000 Crow moved into Orchard House in Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry. 

Among the trustees after the move was artist Val Hunt, who created artworks with used drinks cans from Crow. 

A Scrapstore, a reuse arts and craft shop, was added in 2012 and is hugely popular with crafters, schools and community groups. 

Barbara Cowling sadly died in 2019. 

In 2024 a horticultural project was added, also thanks to National Lottery funding.