Helping people get through coronavirus with caravan converted into eco-friendly cafe in Northampton

An eco-friendly cafe built into a converted caravan in Northampton has been helping people get through the coronavirus pandemic.

Betty Brew was restored and turned into a mobile cafe by self-confessed eco-warrior Sarah Elliot and her father to provide a pit-stop for walkers in Rectory Farm.

Since opening in May, the venture has gone from strength to strength with lots of customers coming for a coffee, hot chocolate or homemade treat while getting some much-needed fresh air.

Sarah said: “I am extremely mindful of the importance of wellbeing and sustainability and the impact our actions have on the environment.

"Getting people out into the fresh air and ensuring they can be rewarded for their long walk with a warm drink makes me feel like I’m doing my bit, especially during the recent pandemic."

Sarah makes sure she is as environmentally-friendly as possible, with sustainable ingredients, Vegware packaging and cups and a focus on recycling.

The former vet teamed up with recycling firm Cawleys to dispose of her cups, packaging, excess coffee grounds and general waste to keep her impact on the environment to a minimum.

"I want Brew to have a low environmental impact and ensuring the packaging I use can be recycled effectively is fundamental to my business," she explained.

"I have clearly labelled bins to make it as easy as possible for my customers to segregate their waste, and the fact that many of them stay on-site around the firepit after their walk means that I can capture as much of it as possible.

"Cawleys have been instrumental in enabling me to recycle from my caravan – without them, I would not have been able to do it."

Cawleys takes Brew’s coffee grounds to the Bio-bean centre in Cambridgeshire to be recycled and converted into coffee logs, which are then used to fuel the firepit.

General waste from the catering unit is sorted and segregated to pull out any additional items such as paper, card or plastic that are suitable for other streams of recycling.

Cawleys also manage the waste collection on the wider farm which is also sorted for segregation and recycling recovery.

The firm's ability to deal with Brew’s waste at its Northampton depot ensures Brew’s carbon footprint is also kept as low as possible too.

Cawleys head of customer care Anna Cawley added: "We are delighted that we can help yet another local business do the right thing for the environment.

"We have seen a healthy demand for our Vegware collections at a time when take-away hot drinks are the norm and this is a great step in the right direction.

"Bio-bean performs a fabulous service converting coffee grounds into logs that can be used to generate heat, and we are proud to support an initiative that has such a strong sustainability focus.

"During the winter we’ll all be drinking far more coffee and it would be great to see more café’s like Sarah’s embrace the possibility of recycling their grounds for the greater good.”