Hope United Methodist Church members Florence Hacklander, left, and Joni Jenkins, right, learned how to weave plastic bags into sleeping mats to be donated to homeless individuals in June. They brought the project back to their church last July, and they have been creating mats with other volunteers – including Judy Whitney, center – since then.

What do you do with the ubiquitous plastic bags which are a by-product of grocery shopping? 

Do you throw them away? 

Do you take them back to the grocery store to be recycled? 

Do you keep them under the kitchen sink for such purposes as cleaning out the cat’s litter box? 

Maybe you try to avoid them entirely by using tote bags? 

Members of Hope United Methodist Church (Hope UMC)’s congregation have discovered an alternative option: making the bags into something useful.

It all started last June, when Hope UMC members Florence Hacklander and Joni Jenkins took a road trip to the Midwest Mission distribution center in Jefferson, Iowa.

The Midwest Mission organization aims to make an impact around the world by assembling donated resources into supply packages to provide humanitarian relief.

In 2022, $7.99 million of supplies were sent in 299 domestic and 48 international shipments. The supplies range from disaster relief to health and education resources to tools for micro businesses, all of which are distributed through trusted partner nonprofits.

One of the more creative donations circles back to those plastic bags: sleeping mats woven out of plastic strips.

It was this last idea which intrigued Hacklander and Jenkins.

“Everyone has plastic bags, and everyone wants to get rid of them,” Hacklander reasons.

Additionally, the finished sleeping mat is a surprisingly useful product.

“It fills a need that many homeless people have, which is comfort,” Jenkins explains. “The sleep mats go under whatever bedding they have, and the plastic has some give to it. It is a thermal barrier to the damp and cold, and it is an insect barrier. It is very lightweight, and it can be rolled and folded up. If it gets dirty, you can hose it off.” 

And, Jenkins adds, “It’s a great use for the bags.” 

In fact, the project puts 100 percent of the plastic bags to use.

Sections of the bags which cannot be woven into sleeping mats – the seamed bottoms, for example – are saved and delivered to the distribution center in Jefferson. A local business in the area collects the leftover bits of plastic and melts them down to be made into weatherproof benches.

“Everything is used – there’s no garbage after that,” Jenkins says.

Groups around the country have experimented with finding the best way to craft the sleeping mats. Hacklander and Jenkins learned a new, innovative method during their visit to the Midwest Mission distribution center.

Jenkins explains it can be very hard to work with the plastic strips which are cut from the bags, as they have little give. Groups who tried to crochet or sew the strips found their efforts were slow-going; they were only producing roughly one mat a month.

When distribution centers across the country were challenged to develop a better method, it was a representative at the Jefferson center who discovered that weaving was the best option.

“It works beautifully,” Jenkins said.

The process requires special looms. They are crafted by volunteer carpenters, and given out for a small fee to groups who want to start a weaving initiative in their community.

Hope UMC’s weaving group currently has two looms, although they plan to donate one to a group in New Mexico.

Apart from acquiring looms in Jefferson, Hacklander and Jenkins also spent their time there learning the weaving process, which is completed in four major steps.

First, the bags are flattened and folded. Then, they are cut into five-inch loops. Volunteers take the loops and tie them into sections with slip knots. The last step involves weaving the sections together on a large loom.

“And, voila,” Jenkins says, with a smile.

The entire process requires an average of four to five hours of labor, although the time varies depending on how many people are working on the loom at a time.

Hope UMC’s weaving group, which meets from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of the month, has produced four mats since they started weaving in mid-July.

Hacklander and Jenkins had a second trip to Jefferson planned for Saturday, Sept. 16, to deliver the mats for distribution.

Weaving groups are encouraged to assess their community’s needs before bringing mats to the distribution center. If a group has a sizeable homeless population in their area, they are instructed to distribute the mats directly within their community.

“We have not identified a local need, so we will take our stack down to the distribution center,” Jenkins says. The center will determine if the mats are needed at a United States location before distributing the mats internationally.

Hacklander and Jenkins hope to keep the project going for as long as they are able to field supplies and volunteers.

The supplies are easy to come by, they note. Currently, Hope UMC collects a majority of their bags from Juba’s, and quite a few from its congregation as well.

As for volunteers, the women say they are always happy to accept more help.

“We welcome all comers,” Jenkins says.

She explains the weaving process is very simple – anyone can learn how to do it.

“There are no special skills,” Jenkins says. “You don’t have to be a metal worker, an artist or a seamstress. It’s truly an equal opportunity thing.” 

She says some volunteers even work on the project at home if they are unable to come to Hope UMC to weave in person.

And, as Hacklander comments, “One of the byproducts is that everyone seems to be having a really good time. I think (the project) will gradually grow.”