Oh newspapers, how I love thee — let me count the ways

Kate Decker

May 1, 2022

Becky of Acre Homestead on YouTube shares a tutorial of repotting pepper seedlings into paper pots made of folded newspaper. Click here to watch this video on YouTube.
When composting, newspapers add carbon to the mix that will eventually break down into soil amendments. Add other plant materials like vegetable/fruit peels, cores and used coffee grounds. To explore other methods of composting, click here to watch ‘10 ways to compost no matter where you live’ on YouTube. (Kate Decker)

Promote the multiple ways newspapers can be reused, zero-waste footprint

While this is somewhat of a love letter to newspapers (haha — I'm only partially kidding), let's count all the ways that we can use newspapers beyond reading the current events and news of our communities and supporting local businesses.

In a world growing more conscious of climate change, it is more important than ever to promote all the zero-waste aspects of your newspaper.

I read in a study years back that newspaper subscribers often feel guilty if they don’t read the newspaper and issues start to pile up. Let your readers know they never have to feel guilty!

Using an item more than once is one foundation of a living a sustainable lifestyle. Promote all these ways your newspaper can be used a second time around:

  • wrapping gifts
  • fire starter
  • packing material
  • shelf or drawer liner
  • table/floor liner for projects
  • seed pots (Read more in photo caption at right.)
  • use instead of paper towels to wash windows
  • storing fruit — helps ripen tomatoes; stores apples for longevity
  • compost material — this turns into soil amendments for gardeners (Read more in photo caption at right.)

Are there any other ways you reuse your newspaper? Share them with us by emailing kate@nna.org.

Kate Decker is the managing editor of Publishers’ Auxiliary and the associate director of the National Newspaper Association. Email her at kate@nna.org.