Volunteers Turn Plastic Bags into Sleeping Mats for Homeless

It may sound a bit Rumpelstiltskin-esque, but a host of volunteers from the city and suburbs are turning discarded plastic shopping bags into sleeping mats for the homeless.

A profile in the Chicago Reader describes how Ruth Werstler founded New Life for Old Bags, which organizes volunteers to crotchet plastic yard (aka “plarn”) into mats. So far, the group has made about 1,000 mats, which Werstler says has kept nearly 700,000 bags out of landfills.

The organization now has a Plainfield chapter that meets the third Saturday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Plainfield Public Library's large meeting room, 15025 S. Illinois St. The next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 16.

• Read: Plainfield Outreach Gives 'New Life to Old Bags'

You can find information about mat-making events on the Plainfield chapter's Facebook page