FISHERS, Ind. (WTHR) — Most of us have a pile of plastic bags at home, screaming to be re-used or recycled in some fashion.
Kids in Fishers discovered not only an eco-friendly way to keep plastic bags out of landfills but also a humanitarian way to serve others.
Lauren Atlas, a student at Hoosier Road Elementary, describes how to crochet. For an elementary school student, she makes it sound easier said than done.
"So next I'll just do one loop around, and pull that under, and then I'll take that, flip it over, and go back!"
The students are crocheting the plastic bags, or as they like to call them: "plarn."
"Plastic and yarn makes plarn!" is how Hoosier Road Elementary student Pierce Young describes the project.
What is plarning?
Plarning is a method of tying together the plastic bags using a crochet needle. Students are making mats for the homeless, and for the inexperienced crocheter, it's really not that hard.
These kids are recycling plastic for a couple of reasons.
Pierce Young said it's a way to help the homeless community.
"We are making mats because they’re just sleeping on benches and stuff, so we are trying to make mats so they can lay on these and not get bug bites and stuff while they are sleeping," said Young. "Because we don't want them to get very sick."
Not only are they helping the homeless, they are helping the environment.
"So plastic is made out of oil and acid," Atlas explained. "That's bad for the environment because it takes 300 years to break down into the soil and the dirt. And if the plastic goes into the ocean it doesn't break down in the ocean.”
First-grade teacher Carly Szabo said the project started as an environmental project, knowing plastic waste was a problem in many communities.
"But then when we realized the purpose of the blankets or mats, they knew that this was helping in so many other ways."
These kids are also getting some expert help from volunteers from Terre Haute.
Volunteer Karen Sagraves, of Central Christian Church in Terre Haute, said that it takes over 700 plastic bags and over 100 hours to make one plastic mat. She also knows the benefits of getting children involved in this giving project.
"Well working with these kids is just a delight," said Karen Sagraves of Central Christian Church in Terre Haute. "It's a joy to work with the children and to be able to do something for the homeless population. And to build awareness and share awareness across communities is really important and really valuable."
"I can't wait to see once we put them all together and have a finished product," said Szabo. "They are most excited to give it away. That's what they are most excited for."
If you would like to reuse your plastic bags by making plarn and crocheting mats for the homeless, you can find a "how to" here.
- How to make plarn and crochet a mat: https://youtu.be/s3PqOhUiA-c
This story is part of a series, "Going Green with Kelly Greene," featuring environmental stories of our land, water and air in central Indiana, promoting greener living. If you have story ideas you want Kelly to cover, reach out to her on Facebook or Twitter, or email her at Kelly.Greene@wthr.com.