SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- San Diego doctorate students are addressing the city's Hepatitis A outbreak while also helping the environment.
Doctorate students at Brandman University participating in the Brandman Innovation Tournament were tasked with taking an ordinary object and turning it into something useful for the community.
A San Diego team of four students had to do it with industrial shrink wrap.
Team member Vicki Wodarczyk says you can't recycle shrink wrap and finding a way to repurpose it is critical for the environment.
The team eventually figured out that they could layer the shrink wrap, iron the edges and turn it into plastic bags which could be used as hygiene bags for the homeless.
Wodarczyk says their main goal is to bring awareness to the fact that there are not enough accessible bathrooms in San Diego. They hope companies will be inspired to try and tackle the problem in an innovative way.
"Although it's not maybe the most beautiful thing to think about, people need a place to use the bathroom and they need a way to dispose of that, and in the past grocery bags have been that system for people that don't have that access," said Wodarczyk.
Inside the bags is donated Dr. Bronner's soap, deodorant, wipes, toothbrushes, and lotion.
The team will find out how they did in the competition in January.
