Volunteers at a Moncton soup kitchen are helping the homeless, and the environment, by turning old milk bags into mattresses.
Bruce Lawson, manager of the Karing Kitchen, says the project was started by a woman in Toronto after a devastating earthquake left thousands of people homeless in Haiti.
The initiative resulted in a Canada-wide organization called MILKBAGSunlimited, which has made its way to Moncton.
Lawson says it takes up to 500 milk bags and six or seven man-hours to construct one mattress.
“The milk bags have to be cut in half, then they are knotted together in lengths of four, then they are strung between nails on a jig,” he explains. “Then it’s just like a loom -- you’re weaving in and out.”
Minnie Oakley volunteers at the soup kitchen -- which serves up to 150 people a day -- and has been helping make the mattresses.
“I think it’s a perfect idea,” says Oakley. “It saves the people from getting wet and sick. It saves their clothes from getting wet.”
Daniel McDonald agrees. He knows what it’s like to be homeless, and says the mats would be a big help on cold, wet nights.
“Keep the cold off, keep the rain from soaking in,” he says. “Mildew, bugs are not going to be bothering you.”
McDonald says it’s a win-win situation because the plastic doesn’t end up in a landfill, and the mattress helps someone in need.
“Instead of being in the garbage and not being recycled, these things can be actually put to better use,” he says.
Lawson says the mats are durable and can be used all-year round.
“The beauty of these things is, because they’re plastic, they last forever,” he says. “They’re mildew-resistant, they’re easily washed, they’re UV-resistant, they’re fungal-resistant.”
Anyone interested in volunteering their time to construct the mattresses can contact the Karing Kitchen.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kate Walker
