Operation Bed Roll: Conserve, Crochet, Care

Operation Bed Roll is an effort keep non-recyclable materials out of residential recycling– and help some of our neediest residents have a safe place to sleep.

Operation Bed Roll aims to transform thousands of plastic grocery bags into “plarn,” or plastic bag yarn used to create crocheted sleeping mats that provide an insulated barrier for those who sleep on the ground.

From 2016-2018, Greensboro Recycling staff trained residents how to make the plarn and Greensboro police officers distributed the mats to people experiencing homelessness during the winter months. The Interactive Resource Center, a non-profit that helps people experiencing homelessness, also helps distribute bedrolls to those in need.

Operation Bed Roll collected more than 500 plarn bed rolls from 2016-2018. The project is now self-sustaining and far reaching through community organizations hosting workshops, creating bed rolls, and donating them to non-profits in their area. Organizations near and far have taken up the OBR mantel in their local communities and continue to create and distribute.

Why We’re Doing It

Plastic bags like the kind you get when you buy groceries or other items cannot be recycled via the City’s residential recycling program.

Plastic bags that are put into residential recycling bins cause daily disruptions at the City’s Municipal Recycling Facility, getting caught in the sorting machinery. To properly recycle waste plastic bags (and plarn scraps), take them to a retail drop-off bin where they will be made into cool new things!

Creating plarn is a creative way to reuse those plastic bags. Plarn can be used to knit or crochet a variety of items. Operation Bed Roll allows residents to use their craft skills to make bed rolls so these plastic bags can become something useful to the community.

How To Help

Create a bedroll, or a few, using our helpful videos and print resources. If you can't crochet, we've got video tutorials for that too! Team up with friends or family to make plarn and crochet together as a fun collaborative project.

When you're done, reach out to your local law enforcement agency to find out if their Community Resource or Patrol divisions want to help distribute to people in need. You can also reach out to local non-profits to find out how to best get your labor of love into the hands of those who can use it as a tool to keep warm.