8,000 plastic H-E-B bags become sleeping mats for unhoused people
SAN ANTONIO — Rather than piling up at the dump, 8,000 plastic H-E-B bags will provide a soft sleeping surface for unhoused people in San Antonio, thanks to a few local teens.
Six volunteers with Teens Give Back SATX wove together the used plastic bags to create nine padded sleeping mats for those experiencing homelessness, according to a social media post from San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries.
“The mats not only prevent the bags from going to a landfill, but they also provide the unhoused with insulation from the ground until they can find a permanent housing solution,” SAMMiparticular nistries said in the post.
Volunteers create the lightweight mats by cutting bags into strips of “plarn,” or plastic yarn, which are then crocheted together.
The thousands of bags used for this
project were donated by HE-B from its recycling program, according to SAMMinistries.
Customers can return their used plastic bags to in-store collection bins or when picking up curbside orders at HE-B.
SAMMinistries thanked Teens Give Back SATX members Addie, Kendall, Mia, Berkley, Pablo and Ava for constructing the mats, calling their work “an inspiration for us all.”
The project already has had a positive impact, according to SAMMinistries’ Chief Infrastructure Officer Tracy Ryan.
“I’ve had the privilege of blessing several of our unhoused neighbors with the mats and they were so very grateful,” Ryan wrote.
“I’ve had the privilege of blessing several of our unhoused neighbors with the mats and they were so very grateful.”
Tracy Ryan SAMMinistries’ chief infrastructure officer