PORTLAND, Maine — Ecomaine has announced six finalists for its school-based Upcycle Challenge, which will award $500 to a participating student’s school.
Now, it's up to the public to determine which design is "best." You can see the designs and vote by clicking here.
According to ecomaine Communication Manager Matt Grondin, 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.
From 27 designs, ecomaine’s Outreach & Recycling Committee selected six finalists.
Grondin says the selection was made "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."
The finalists are:
- Aurora Milton, Cape Elizabeth High School: an Upcycled Bomber Jacket made from old shirts and an old bridesmaid dress
- Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, Scarborough: a working chandelier from single-use plastic bottles, bottle caps, felt, foam, and other materials
- Laurel Wight, Freeport Middle School: a two-piece outfit made from plastic bags and an old pillowcase
- The Morse High School Green Club, RSU #1: a bike rack fashioned from old, donated bicycles and a cross-country ski
- Alexzandra Jewett, Saco Middle School: an end table crafted from parts from a 1989 Ford Mustang that didn’t work any longer
- Lindsay Turcotte, Saco Middle School: a door hanger for coats, pet leashes, and many other items created from an old rake head
“We were floored by the creativity and resourcefulness of these students and their designs,” said Grondin. “Narrowing them down was not an easy task, and we’re all looking forward to seeing who the winner of the 2021 Upcycle Challenge will be.”
Finalists will be voted on by users’ votes online through Earth Day, April 22, and the grand prize will be awarded to the winning students’ school club or activity of choice.