A Mission of New Hope Christian Church, Wichita
Plastic bags are one of the worst offenders of the wasteful products that are polluting the Earth’s oceans and occupying the limited space of landfills. Equivalently, 429,000 plastic bags are dumped into landfills each hour; or 7,150 are thrown away each minute.
Before you throw away that plastic grocery bag, consider this: it could be helping the homeless get a better night’s sleep.
On the fourth Saturday of every month, volunteers from New Hope Christian Church and the surrounding Wichita community gather to turn plastic grocery bags into sleeping mats for the homeless.
“It is always exciting because we never know who will show up to help us,” said Denny Bell, pastor. “It adds to the fellowship each time someone new comes and shares their gifts of wanting to reach out to the community to help others. There is a genuine willingness to help others in need.”
First, volunteers sort and straighten donated bags. Using rotary cutters, volunteers cut the bags into strips and then tie them together to create “plarn” or plastic yarn. They then use the plarn to crochet the sleeping mats. Finally, a strap is attached for ease of carrying. It takes more than 1,000 plastic bags to make one mat.
These sleeping mats are more hygienic, waterproof, easily transportable, and provide protection from the cold concrete. They’re a welcome comfort to those living rough, while also keeping more plastic out of landfill and our marine systems.