Would you like to bring your class to visit Crow Recycling? Pupils can find out how paper and used drinks cans are collected and prepared for recycling. They can see can crushing and baling machines in action. They can help sort paper into different grades ready for recycling. And they can find out how the sorted paper is shredded and baled to be reused as animal bedding or packaging. Pupils also visit Crow Recycling's Scrapstore to find out how waste materials are reused for arts and crafts. Educational visits to Crow Recycling are free and led by staff and volunteers with Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Can't make it with your class to the Crow premises in Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry? Crow can send  someone out to your school to give a talk on recycling and reusing. For more information ring Crow Recycling on 02476552444 or e mail crow@talktalkbusiness.net. To sign up for e mail updates about school visits click here.  

Paper bales ready for delivery Work experience helps get CVs noticed and helps teenagers decide which job they want to do along with delivering a massive confidence boost. Secondary school pupils with special needs have chance to reap those benefits with a work placement at Crow Recycling in Hillfields, Coventry. The registered charity was set up in 1985 to provide work placements for disabled people by processing waste paper and used drinks cans for recycling. School pupils on work experience help with sorting, crushing and baling drinks cans along with sorting, shredding and baling paper. They also help run the Scrapstore where people can buy waste materials to use for arts and crafts. Pupils on work experience are supervised by staff and volunteers with Disclosure and Barring Service checks. To find out more about work experience placements with Crow ring 024 76 552444or e mail crow@talktalkbusiness.net. To receive email updates about work experience at Crow click here.   

  Crow Recycling can help with new year resolutions Taking up an art or craft The Crow Scrapstore has wool, fabric, paper, card and a host of other art supplies and craft supplies at bargain prices. Annual membership costs £10 - more information here. Boosting your CV with useful work experience and volunteering Crow Recycling offers work experience placements and volunteering opportunities tailored to people with disabilities and special needs. Short placements and volunteering opportunities also available for those without special needs. Clearing out large volumes of paperwork If you're heading back to a workplace which needs a clear out of old paperwork, including confidential documents, Crow can help. For more information about Crow's commercial waste paper disposal service click here. Earning cash for recycling Crow Recycling will pay for used drinks cans suitable for recycling. The more the better and Crow can sometimes collect depending on the amount and the location. A great way to earn some cash for a community group. For more information click here. Crow reopens after the Christmas and new year break at 9am on Wednesday January 2. The Scrapstore reopens on the same day at 9.30am.

Crow is closing for Christmas at 1pm on Friday December 21. The last entry to the Scrapstore is at 12.30pm. Crow opens again on Wednesday January 2 at 9am. The Scrapstore opens half an hour later at 9.30am. Merry Christmas from everybody at Crow Recycling.  

Here are some ideas for reusing and recycling to have an environmentally friendly Christmas 1 Buy second hand Christmas decorations There's no need to miss out on a fabulous Christmas display in your home. There are plenty of second hand Christmas decorations available at bargain prices - try a local charity shop or visit the Crow Recycling Scrapstore to reuse instead of buying new. 2 Wrap presents in fabric or paper that can be recycled Fabric squares make great reusable wrapping. For paper wrapping avoid metallic paper which is difficult to recycle. Or why not use plain brown paper or newspaper then add some colourful reusable touches such as fabric ribbon and buttons? Brown paper is available at 30 pence per metre from the Crow Recycling Scrapstore along with fabric, ribbon and buttons. 3 Use last year's Christmas cards as this year's present labels. The cards with plenty of snow on them have the best white spaces for writing. 4 Send e mailed cards or make your own.  Crow Recycling has card, paper and envelopes donated by organisations for reuse as an alternative to recycling. Come and buy some and make your own. 5 Give presents which won't need to be sent to landfill when they're finished with Give homemade sweets or biscuits in a reused container, send an offer to do something nice for someone or make a charity donation in someone's name as a gift. Or how about buying someone a year's membership of the Crow Recycling Scrapstore? The cost is £10. 6 Buy fewer or cheaper presents Families with older children and adults could opt for secret Santas so they only buy one present each - there are even apps and websites which [...]

  Have a crafty and recycled Christmas this year with the Crow Scrapstore Christmas shop. The Christmas shop is open from now until 12 noon on Friday December 21 for materials to create beautiful cards, gift wrap, gift tags and decorations. People are invited to visit and be inspired by the coloured card, coloured paper, ribbon, fabric, stickers and decorations. The stock is at bargain prices such as two pence for an A4 sheet of paper and three pence for an A4 sheet of card. A4 white envelopes are free with any purchase while stocks last. There is also a good selection of second hand value for money decorations for those who want to reuse and recycle this Christmas. There is tinsel and there are baubles and rolls of wrapping paper. For those who need inspiration there are ideas about how to give your present wrapping the wow factor and ideas about how to make bows out of scrap paper. Scrapstore development worker Lauren Dunn said: “Make Christmas special by creating unique gift wrap, tags and cards. We have materials and ideas at the Crow Scrapstore Christmas shop.” When it comes to posting parcels Crow can help with padded brown envelopes for £1. Brown paper for packing is available by the metre. The Crow Recycling Scrapstore sells donated waste materials to use for arts and crafts all year round. To shop at the Scrapstore people must become members which costs £10 per year. People are invited to browse then decide if they want to join and shop. The Scrap store is at the Crow Recycling base in Orchard House, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry, CV1 5LB. Opening times are Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 3pm and [...]

Members who can't visit the Scrapstore at the usual opening times are invited to  drop in on Saturday October 27. The Scrapstore is open from 11am to 1pm for bargain arts and craft materials. Among the bargains are pieces of coloured card, pieces of coloured paper, wool, fabric, cardboard tubes, wood, picture frames, ribbons, back copies of craft magazines, tiles and lots more. There will also be Halloween craft ideas. And there will be colouring and bracelet making for children. The Scrapstore is at Crow Recycling, Orchard House, Sparkbrook Street, Hillfields, Coventry, CV1 5LB.  

Reusing shredded paper For those who shred documents at home rather than using a commercial service such as Crow the question is what to do with shredded paper? Here are some ideas. If you have a garden soak it and then add it to your compost heap or bin. Paper is especially useful if you have lots of grass cuttings in your heap - it helps produce rich compost. Use it as animal bedding. Small amounts are perfect for a rabbit or guinea pig and are ready to compost when the hutch is cleaned out. Here at Crow we do this on a commercial scale with large loads of shredded paper compressed into 30kg bales popular with people who run animal care businesses. Shredded paper is great to use for packaging - help with good seller feedback by making sure the goods arrive in perfect condition.