Cardboard gingerbread house wins top prize at MUN recycling contest

Students at Memorial University in St. John's were challenged to find creative ways to reuse common waste and turn it into Christmas decorations on Friday.

McDonald's cups, newspapers, cardboard boxes and other every day items were creatively concocted into decorations which will be used around the campus in the coming weeks.

Students competed for $1,000 in cash prizes with MUN PhDstudents Sam Lehman and CheriseRagoonath, members of the graduate English student society,coming out on top.

"We're having a conference in February from the 8th to the 9thon eco-criticism and environmental studies. So we thought what better way to raise awareness than to participate in other areas of sustainability on campus," Lehman said.

"Plus we need a break from PhD work."

They won with a detailed cardboardgingerbread house design, complete with a miniature Christmas tree and books.

Another team pulled coffee cups from campus garbage cansto create a Christmas tree design.

"We're raising awareness and we're hoping to change people's habits and start using reusable mugs for example," Loujein Mouammer, a process engineering masters student with a focus on renewable energy, told CBC News on Friday.

"The stage we are now, we really need to think about our waste and our perception and come up with creative ways to reduce our carbon footprint."

While only drawing a small turnout to the first event of its kind on campus, organizers say there will be another to follow next year.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador