What is Needed:
- coloured outer milk bags (that hold the three clear one litre bags)
- any brand but not biodegradable bags
- must be clean
- without stickers if possible
- unripped, as they are cut in a continuous strip
- laid flat so they are easy to handle and count
The following story appeared in our April 2011 newsletter:
Plastic Milk Bags for Haiti by Norma Ross
Save your clean three litre milk bags to REDUCE the plastic in our landfill sites. RECYCLE them into sleeping mats for Haiti or REUSABLE shopping bags. That’s right, get your calcium and help the environment at the same time.
Each bag can be cut into a 20 foot strip that can be crocheted into a mat or bag. It takes about 200 bags for a 36 by 48 mat, 50 bags for a small utility bag and 100 bags for a shopping bag that can be used at the food bank. The resulting finished plastic items are mildew proof, do not attract bugs, are easy to clean and dry quickly.
Two workshops to demonstrate how to make the mats have been held and attended by 50 area women. There will be a Show and Weigh day on April 19th at Modern Thymes on Russell St, Smiths Falls at 9:30 am. The finished items will be weighed so that we can calculate the impact this has had on areas landfills over the past six months.
Instructions for cutting and crocheting the mats are available at recyclemilkbags.pbworks.com. Instructions for the small tote bag are on the Canadian Living website’s craft section.
Ask your checkout person to not add any extra stickers to the bag when purchasing your milk as the stickers can’t be removed easily.
A drop box has been set up at the REAL Deal Store, 85 William St. W. Smiths Falls for your clean milk bag donations. If you are interested in making the mats or bags yourself, you can pick bags up at Modern Thymes on Russell St.
For more information about local efforts, please contact Norma Ross at (613) 283-1404.
