Here in Ontario, milk comes in plastic bags. One colourful outer bag containing 3 smaller sealed bags of milk. These smaller bags fit into special shaped jugs that hold the bags steady. Just snip the corner of the bag and pour.
If course, all that plastic isn't ideal.... lots of plastic waste. So here's a way to save some of the plastic from the landfill sites, and be useful at the same time.
The outer bags are collected, snipped into loops, and threaded into strings which will eventually be woven into plastic sleeping mats. The mats can be used during disasters or for any one unfortunate enough to need access to a sheltered place to sleep.
First strings of bags are stretched onto a wooden frame, and then more strings woven back and forth.... not too tight as it has to be soft..... until the whole frame is covered. I had no idea there were so many different grades of milk available, all with a different colour design, making the mats very colourful indeed. It takes at least 450 milk bags to complete one mat, so save your milk bags everyone!
Weaving these mats is an ideal way for high school students to earn their Community Hours. Each student has to complete 40 hours of volunteer work in the community in order to graduate High School. The kids are helping people and also helping the environment, and helping themselves too.
The finished sleeping mats are lightweight, waterproof, easy to dry if they get wet, won't go mouldy, comfy to lay on...... and very much needed by those who do not have a bed to call their own.
Last year, over 100 completed mats were delivered to the Outreach offices and to the shelters from our Volunteer group. Many more groups are doing the same.
