Plarn Project

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Plarn Project is an ongoing recycling project geared towards disabled probationers who need to complete court-ordered community service hours. Plarn is essentially “plastic yarn” made from plastic grocery bags. Plastic grocery bags are collected, sorted, cut, and then crocheted and recycled into large sleeping bag sized mats for the homeless to sleep on. These mats provide a waterproof cushion to sit/sleep on that are easy to roll up and are lightweight to carry. The purpose of this project is actually trifold. The project provides disabled probationers an opportunity to learn a new skill and assists them in completing their court-ordered hours. Secondly, it provides homeless persons with a usable item to make their living situation better. Thirdly, this project helps the environment by recycling grocery bags rather than placing them in our landfills. This last benefit is critical because plastic bags pose a real issue with waste companies due to their decomposition time which takes statistically 500 years. Because of the Plarn Project, roughly 82,000 grocery bags were saved from landfills in 2015. More importantly, over 200 probationers were able to complete community service and roughly 2,300 hours of retribution were paid due to the project.