Yes, you can. But make sure it's wetted/anchored down so the first breeze doesn't find your shredded paper all over the neighborhood. I use a fair amount of shredded paper in my compost, but as an interior layer simply because a cross-cut pretty well turns paper into confetti.

Straw is a popular topper because it's a good loose material which allows for air circulation; however that can blow around too. I really don't think it matters what the top layer of a lasagna bed is since it's ultimately all just stacked up organic material and there isn't a precise recipe - even according to Pat Lanza who is credited with coining the phrase and writing a few books on the subject.

I'd say go for it; cost effectiveness is a goal we're all pretty much striving for with our recycling and reusing.

Leaves also make a great top layer, if you have those available. Wood chips are good too. Any brown will do.

Karen

Unfortunately shredded newspaper is not a substitute for straw. The straw is a hollow plant stem that tends to keep things light and airy while the bacteria are at work while newspaper will tend to cake together (think paper mach'e) and keep air from getting into your mix. If you were looking for a Carbon substitute then the newspaper would be.

Ripped up corrigated cardboard might be a good air entraining supstitute for straw.

Wet cardboard makes paper mache too.

I've noticed that pasteboard or paperboard (like cereal boxes) will stick together and ball up like shredded paper. The corrigated cardboard though is pretty good in compairison. I've been using shredded corrigated cardboard in my worm bin and it is pretty good at staying fluffy.

I don't mean to be off-putting, but yes, in the scheme of things, shredded newspaper and/or ripped up corregated cardboard can make papier-mache when wet and a layer of fessh grass clippings can become a smelly mat if not topped/incorporated with ofsetting browns, and if pumpkins aren't buried in the middle of the pile deer might come by and eat them... the list of pitfalls is endless.

The OP was trying to avoid spending the money on straw - though now with Halloween over there might be some bargains to be had in dismantled decorations. But I thought one of the basics of lasagna bed creation was to use the green and brown materials you have, or can easily get, pile them on top of your newspaper or cardboard base and let nature takes its course. Maybe the area where the OP lives has a compost site where mulch is free for the taking - mulch would be a satisfactory top layer in lieu of either the shredded paper or straw. And as offered by kqcrna, so would leaves.

Some of the responders are very quick to always be "right". In a thread that's no doubt well beyond page 67, someone noted and I'll have to paraphrase - composting is one of the few things you can do badly and still produce something good.

I often use wood chip mulch as my top layer.