Composted sawdust, bark, wood shavings, leaves, grass clippings, rice hulls, ground corncobs, and animal manures may also be used. Plastic mulches are springtime mulches. Newspaper is an organic material, but as a manufactured product it may be thought of differently from other organic mulches. Newspaper makes a good mulch when you use a thickness of several sheets. Hold newspaper to soil surface with soil, sticks, or coat hanger wire.
Some gardeners use a thin layer of pine needles to hold the newspaper down.
Apply a newspaper mulch after plants are established. Like other organic mulches, newspaper decomposes rapidly and adds organic matter to the soil. This would depend on what you make you compost from. Bark nuggets are the best mulch in many situations. It's a stable mulch and open or coarse enough to allow water to move through easily and not float away.