Staff at a Milton Keynes-based company have been collecting crisp packets in order to make blankets for homeless people.
NEP Connect staff have been collecting their crisp packets in the office to recreate blankets similar to the foil ones that paramedics provide patients with.
Each blanket takes a couple of hours to make, ironing the crisps packets together fuses them into a blanket.
These recycled blankets can retain up to 70% body heat for those that use them and so far, local company NEP Connect have created four of these blankets, with each one consisting of around 80-90 individual packets.
“We have been handing these blankets out since last year, to individuals who have been willing to receive them in the local area. We want to give back to the community that we operate within…” said Niamh Goodridge, a Projects Coordinator at NEP Connect.
Goodridge is an environmental ambassador within the company and part of a bigger sustainability push from NEP Connect, who recently received their ISO 14001:2015 certification for Environmental Management. “We don’t plan on stopping creating the blankets any time soon! Not only do the blankets help people that need them, but they give us an opportunity to re-purpose single-use plastic.”
The company is also getting involved with Plastic Free July by using locally sourced, glass bottles of milk instead of plastic containers; providing staff with water bottles to refill, instead of throwing away plastic bottles; and having plastic free zones within onsite productions.
