A NORTHWICH charity is urging the people of the town to donate their used crisp packets to be re-purposed to help the homeless.

Transition Northwich have decided to begin a two month long trial to see whether enough packets can be donated to be supplied to a group in Macclesfield.

Macclesfield Crisp Blankets take the foiled packets and turn them into 'bivvie bags' for rough sleepers, which can be used to keep clothes dry during the day and during the night, use them as insulated sleeping bag covers.

Paul Mathias, a member of Transition Northwich, said he thought it was a great way of not only tackling the increasing issue of waste, but also helping with one of society's most important social issues.

He said: "One of our group noticed a Facebook page with crisp packets being turned into blankets.

"I thought we may as well have a go and see what the reaction is like from the people in Northwich.

"I know a lot of schools collect crisp and snack packets already.

"The attraction of this comes from having our grandchildren and seeing how our bin often gets full of these packets.

"It takes up a lot of bin space.

"This idea seems like a particularly good way of using them."

All foiled crisp packets are acceptable, except McCoys, which are seemingly too flimsy for the job.

Paul added: "The packets need to be slit down one side and then at the bottom, with any grease washed off in hot soapy water and kept flat.

"The Macclesfield group then use heat from an iron to join the packets together.

"Our involvement is trying to network and get things done around the climate change and ecological emergency.

"The beauty of this is that you're re-purposing stuff rather than binning it and it highlights the other aspect of the emergency, which is social justice and climate justice.

"So you're hitting two or three targets at the same time.

"Recycling is at the bottom of the waste hierarchy.

"Everybody thinks that they've got to recycle but it's not the best thing we can actually do.

"We have to start thinking in terms of re-purposing and re-using and re-thinking what we do with things.

"We really need to start thinking of a circular economy, where things stay in and we don't have to use new materials all the time."

The first Covid-secure crisp packet collection will take place between 10m-12pm on Sunday, March 28 at Cumberland Car Park.

Transition Northwich will then stage a second collection on Sunday, April 25, and after that will decide whether to make the new scheme permanent.