A group of high school students are making soft sleeping mats from old plastic bags and giving them out to homeless people, both recycling the waste and helping the poor.
The four 17-year-olds are Ponpalat Vipattipumiprates, Thanathorn Onraksa, Itthipat Saipornchai and Panyada Leelaphatana, all students at Ruamrudee International School in Min Buri district of Bangkok.
They formed the EcoWeave Home group to run their eco-friendly support-for-the-homeless project.
“The project is aimed at helping homeless people and reducing the number of used plastic bags, which destroy the environment. Old plastic bags are turned into free mats for the homeless,” said Ponpalat, the head of the group.
Their handmade, roll-up mats were designed to be conveniently portable. EcoWeave Home group members collected and cleaned used bags and wove them into mats, he said. They were then sprayed with eco-friendly insect repellent, to help protect the recipients' health.
“I used to lie on a hard floor and could rarely sleep because it was so uncomfortable. I felt much more comfortable using an EcoWeave mat, which reduces the pain," Ponpalat said.
"It felt as if I was lying on a mattress. Homeless people share the same feelings and this inspired us to proceed with this social contribution initiative.”
The foursome have already distributed 15 of the sleeping mats to homeless people in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok. They invite others to join them via TikTok at @ecoweavehome to produce more mats - and benefit the homeless and the environment.
Ponpalat Vipattipumiprates makes a sleeping mat from used, cleaned plastic bags. (Photo: EcoWeave Home group)