30 June 2023
As a Year 8 student, back in November 2020, I collaborated with my brother Laurence to launch the Chip Packet Project (CPP). The original concept was founded by Pen Huston in England. We reached out to ask her if we could adapt the idea here in Australia and change the name from Crisp Packet Project to Chip Packet Project and we were delighted to receive an enthusiastic yes!
Laurence and I redesigned the logo with her permission and launched CPP in Australia. We shared the idea in House Muster and with the help of Howard House and the wider community, we have so far managed to donate a total of 70 survival sheets to the Salvation Army for distribution. Last year we also made and gifted 50 wash bags also made from chip packets, which contained toiletries for those in need.
We were able to share the pattern of how to make the survival sheets and encouraged others to collect chip packets so that they could be recycled, along with clear plastic, which was used to reinforce the CPP survival sheets.
The benefit of a survival sheet for rough sleepers, car dwellers and couch surfers are that they reflect body heat and so keep the person warm with the advantages over a woollen blanket being that they are lightweight, compact and do not require laundering.
One of the main challenges was trimming and washing individual packets but we all worked as a team and completing a survival sheet, knowing we have made something from nothing, is really rewarding. It takes approximately four hours to complete one survival sheet.
We have come to realise, during this project, just how much single use plastic goes straight to landfill. Hopefully we’ve helped raise awareness around the benefit of recycling.
Our CPP survival sheets are a welcome source of comfort for those less fortunate, with little or no possessions, on a cold winter’s night.
For anyone interested in learning more about these lifesaving survival sheets or perhaps wishing to make a survival sheet, here’s the link: https://chippacketprojectaustralia.com.au
Maxwell Williams
Year 11 Student