For information about ecomaine’s Upcycle Challenge 2022, including contest guidelines, rules and entry form, visit ecomaine.org.  Courtesy image

ecomaine launched its 2022 school-based Upcycle Challenge, which will award $500 to a participating student’s school.

The Upcycle Challenge asks students in ecomaine’s communities to use items that ordinarily would have been disposed of, to make all-new, functional ones and submit them by Friday, March 18. From the submissions, ecomaine’s Outreach & Recycling Committee will select a group of finalists, based on the incorporation of post-consumer materials, the ingenuity and functionality of the new creation, inclusion of students in the process, as well as the approval from a teacher or advisor.

Following the determination of finalists, the designs will be voted on by the public through Earth Day, April 22.

In the past, the Upcycle Challenge has seen entries including:

• A working chandelier made from old plastic bottles
• A bike rack made from old bicycles
• Clothing fashioned from plastic, old fabric, and other materials
• Old clothing turned into hair scrunchies
• Furniture from old tires
• Movie projectors made from all kinds of would-be-junk materials

“We continue to be so impressed by the creativity of these students and their designs,” said Matt Grondin, ecomaine’s communications manager. “We’re excited to see what this round of sustainably-themed designs has in store.”

Guidelines, rules, and the entry form can be found online at ecomaine.org.