Jones Middle School in Jones, Oklahoma had a contest to see which class could collect the most used plastic bags to help our environment. 289 students collected 17,000+ bags!

Unfortunately, most recyclers don’t take used plastic bags anymore. There are only three or four companies in the US that continue to recycle bags since it costs more to recycle a plastic bag then to make a new one.

When Jones Middle School couldn’t find a recycler for their plastic bags, their teacher did an Internet search on recycling and reusing plastic bags and ended up at the Green Friends North America Plastic Challenge web page. The Middle School contacted the GreenFriendsNA.org website to find out if they could donate their plastic bags.

A day later the greenhouse at Turtle Barn Farm was full from floor to ceiling with plastic bags that volunteers can use to create sleeping mats for the homeless, which reuses plastic bags. 17,000 bags is enough to make over thirty sleeping mats.

Denton Walker, the teacher whose class won, delivered the bags in his truck that was overflowing the next day. It turns out that Jones Middle School is only 10 minutes from Turtle Barn Farm! How convenient and easy God has made networking!

Jones Middle School is happy to have their classroom space back that had been filled with plastic bags, Turtle Barn Farm is happy to reuse their bags for the sleep mat project, and the students and teacher who won the contest are happy since the teacher won $100 plus the students won a pizza party!

The Middle school is impressed with the sleep mat project and may help to make plarn balls to be crocheted into sleep mats. It’s a WIN/ WIN for everyone and shows how connected we are in our Global Earth Village and what networking and cooperating can create.