Hey you! Yes…YOU! Is this newspaper headed for the recycling bin once you have 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!

Canada’s Oldest Community Newspaper The Picton Gazette and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) TRIPLE-DOG-DARE YOU to participate in the “This Old Newspaper?!”  Reader Contest and recycle 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

• Family

The rules are simple: 

• Participants must repurpose newspaper into something creative and/or functional (anything goes – ballgown, basket, lampshade) and submit it to their local community newspaper.Note: While a piece created 100% 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% 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 Picton Gazette 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. 
• Submit all entries to [email protected]

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 Tik Tok 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. 

-Staff