A young woman in Detroit is on a mission to help the city’s homeless and she’s using something unexpected to do it - used potato chip bags. Eradajere Oleita collects the empty bags and uses them to create sleeping bags to help keep homeless people warm in the brutal winter weather.
The 25-year-old says the process is simple, she just collects bags, cuts them open, irons them and lines them with plastic. She got the idea from a video of a woman in England and started collecting the bags months ago and has since set up a websiteto get more. Oleita says it takes about 150 chip bags to make one sleeping bag and they’re the ideal material because the foil lining reflects body heat, plus they’re incredibly lightweight and waterproof.
The Nigerian-born woman’s project is proof that one person’s trash really is another person’s treasure. “I want people to think about these things and for our products to come full circle,” Oleita says. “I have never been shy of humanitarian work because firstly I am … a human.”