JANUARY 13 • 2022 | 19

P

lastic Bags Make Plastic Mats 
is the name of a new initia-
tive from National Council of 
Jewish Women, Michigan (NCJW|MI), 
which is aimed at both addressing the 
plastic pollution problem while helping 
Detroit’s homeless community have a 
better night’s sleep. 
Members of NCJW|MI’s Green 
Committee wanted to come up with a 
practical solution to reduce the plastic 
waste from plastic bags and learned 
that it was possible to create comfort-
able sleeping mats from plastic bags. 
“Plastic bags are not recyclable curb-
side, and plastic pollution is a huge 
problem,
” says Cathy Cantor, co-chair 
of the Green Committee. “Our think-
ing is that we don’t want anyone using 

plastic bags, but if you have them — 
and most of us do — we can do some-
thing good with them for Detroit’s 
homeless population.
”
Marilyn Mossman, also co-chair 
of the Green Committee, reiterated 
that the aim was to repurpose plastic 
bags, not use new ones. “We have been 
offered new bags by companies, but we 
don’t want them. We don’t want people 
to take home their shopping in plastic 
bags, and eventually we would like to 
see all single-use plastics — like bags, 
bottles, cups and straws — replaced by 
compostable, biodegradable or wash-
able products,
” she explained. 
Volunteers will be doing their part 
for tikkun olam, repairing the planet. 
Informational flyers for the project 
provide startling statistics: According 
to the EPA, about 500 billion to 1 
trillion plastic bags are produced each 
year worldwide, requiring billions of 
pounds of fossil fuels and billions of 
gallons of fresh water. The bags lead to 
billions of pounds of solid waste as well 
as millions of tons of CO2 released into 
the atmosphere each year. 
Additional problems are that plastic 
bags never completely break down; 
plastic bags increase the risk of severe 
flooding by clogging storm drains 
and other sources where water accu-
mulates; and plastic bags also pollute 
the oceans and shorelines and kill 
hundreds of thousands of avian and 
marine wildlife.
To find a way to reuse the bags now, 
and do some good, makes sense to the 
Green Committee. “I wish we didn’t 
have a homeless problem, but we do, 
and at least creating the mats with the 
bags is making these people’s lives just 
a little bit easier,” Mossman says.
To produce the mats, NCJW|MI 
has been asking for donations of used 
clean plastic bags, flattened, if pos-
sible, delivered to its office in. Then, 
volunteers create the yarn — known 
as plarn — by cutting the bags into 
strips and rolling them into balls. 
Others who like to knit or crochet 
then use the plarn to make the mats, 
which are then returned to the NCJW 
office. More information on the proj-
ect is available at https://ncjwmi.org/
plastic-mats.
So far, 10 mats have been made, all 

donated to the Corner Shower and 
Laundry, a nonprofit in Corktown 
that provides free shower and laundry 
access for those who are homeless or 
otherwise in need. Susan Goldsmith, 
who is both a board member of the 
Corner Shower and Laundry and a 
member of NCJW|MI, said that the 
mats have been gratefully received. 
“Our guests are living on the street, 
and these mats give them a little cush-
ion, a little padding, and help remove 
them from the elements. It’s a little 
bit of comfort that they otherwise 
wouldn’t have,” she said. 
NCJW’s Green Committee started 
back in 2019 with a group of about 10 
board members who were interested 
in ways to protect the environment. 
“We are a group of active, dedicated 
and environmentally passionate vol-
unteers who want to educate the pub-
lic about ways we can combat global 
warming,” Cantor says. Since then, the 
Green Committee has grown to about 
25, and includes many NCJW general 
members who all want to work on 
this issue.
The group has organized talks, such 
as a program on climate change host-
ed by WDIV-TV meteorologist Paul 
Gross and another on plastic waste 
with National Public Radio journalist 
Laura Sullivan. 
Cantor and Mossman represent 
NCJW Green on the Great Lakes 
Plastic Pollution Solution Coalition, 
working with individuals from many 
organizations to have a larger impact 
on reducing plastic pollution. In sum-
mer 2021, NCJW|MI members were 
invited to take part in Plastic Free July, 
part of a worldwide initiative that aims 
to reduce plastic usage. 
“We sent out an e-blast to encourage 
our members to take the pledge and 
avoid using plastic as much as possi-
ble,
” Mossman says. “Our hope is that 
any habits developed in that month, 
such as not using straws or using reus-
able shopping bags, will then become a 
year-round habit.
” 

 

Anyone who would like to get involved with 

Plastic Bags Makes Plastic Mats can email 

ncjwgreen@gmail.com. Plastic bags can be 

dropped off at NCJW|MI’s office at Suite 306, 

26400 Lahser Road, Southfield MI 48033 or call 

248-355-3300, ext. 0.

National Council 
of Jewish Women, 
Michigan is helping 
the homeless, and 
the environment, with 
sleeping mats made of 
plastic bags.

Marilyn Mossman and Susan Goldsmith, board 
member of the Corner Shower and Laundry, 
unload matts.

COURTESY OF NCJW

