FARMINGTON – Forget the fancy Halloween costumes available from the local stores. Use imagination and recycled items to become a warrior, sailor or even a camel. That was the message endorsed by the few participants of a recycled Halloween costume contest held Thursday at the University of Maine at Farmington.

The contest, sponsored by the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition, invited students and others to make the best Halloween costume they could out of recycled materials.

“It was done a few years ago,” said organizer Shawn Menard, a coalition member. “We decided to bring it back primarily because it’s what we’re all about . . . sustainability and recycling everyday things.”

Contest rules asked for use of recycled or previously used materials from campus, home or around town. Winners were based on creativity, use of recycled materials and presentation.

“We wanted to see what people could come up with,” Menard said.

Cheryl Collier of Vienna, the overall winner and winner for use of recycled materials, showed her power as a warrior before the judges. Armor made of cardboard held together with duct tape covered her legs, torso and created a makeshift helmet that prepared her for battle.

A white, collared blouse found at a local thrift store was the basis for Emily Baer’s sailor costume. The judges voted her most creative.

But neither Collier nor Baer could beat the antics of Mark Lemos of Durham, who played to the crowd as he crawled down the steps as the camel he portrayed. Wearing an old theater costume, Lemos was also promoting a Halloween haunted house planned for later Thursday on campus with proceeds benefiting local charities, he said.

The judges, Chris Kinney of Farmington, Jess Leavitt of Windham and Sarah O’Blenes of Salisbury, Mass., chose Lemos as winner for presentation.

Despite the few entrants, Menard was pleased with the results and ready to consider holding the contest again next year.