MANITOULIN – Hey you! Yes, you! Is this newspaper headed for the recycling bin once you’ve finished reading it with your morning cup of coffee? Chances are you have answered ‘yes,’ totally unaware that these folded sheets of community news are useful beyond your leisurely reading. This paper is a surprisingly versatile material that has the potential to be repurposed into something amazing. Clothing, art, furniture–the possibilities are endless!
Your local community newspapers, The Manitoulin Expositor and Manitoulin West Recorder, and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) encourage you to participate in the ‘This Old Newspaper?!’ reader contest and recycle your leftover newspaper into something new.
Are you up for the challenge? Put your creativity hat on and enter for your chance to win the OCNA provincial price of $1,000.
There are three categories: open; junior under 12; and family.
The rules are simple: Participants must repurpose newspaper into something creative and/or functional (anything goes: ball gown, basket, lampshade) and submit it to either The Expositor or Manitoulin West Recorder office. (While a piece created 100 percent of newspaper is ideal, we recognize that other materials may be necessary for framework and stability. Therefore, a piece must consist of at least 70 percent recycled newspaper. Of course, it must also be appropriate for the public to admire.)
In addition to a brief description about the participant’s creation, they must submit a series of photos or videos taken during the construction process to show how the piece was developed.
The local community newspaper will submit each participant’s work to the OCNA by September 1 for consideration in the provincial contest.
The provincial contest will then go live virtually for readers across Ontario to view and vote for their favourite. The piece with the most votes will win.
Getting creative with leftover newspapers is a great activity for families to do with kids while spending more time at home this summer, and a challenge for adults who find themselves (as the viral TikTok song says) “bored in the house.” So, stop tossing those newspapers in the recycling bin and repurpose them so you can proudly say “This Old Newspaper?!” when showing your creation off to others.
