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The piles may be daunting, but it’s worth the digging. In 4 tons of other people’s trash, a true scavenger can find perfectly good coffee makers, cork boards, leopard-print pumps, televisions, tiki torches and a miniature putting green. One year, someone even snagged an electric wheelchair.

And at UNCG’s annual Cram and Scram sale, every treasure goes for 50 cents. The university’s office of waste reduction and recycling collected the items from students moving out at year’s end.

More than 170 people lined up Wednesday for the first day of the sale at Elliott University Center before the doors opened. Just moments after shoppers rushed in, bounty piles started popping up around the room.

In a heap that had to be rolled outside in a large laundry cart, Angela Reid took home jeans, suitcases, comforters, coats, lamps, a television and “a whole lot of et cetera.”

“I could not believe the good stuff students leave behind,” she said.

Cram and Scram began nearly a decade ago when the university noticed how much useful stuff students threw out. Ben Kunka, recycling operations supervisor, said the school pays $41 per ton to dispose of that waste.

“I still see a lot of stuff getting thrown into the garbage that will end up right in the landfill,” he said. “It’s nice that we can get at least some of it here.”

Money collected from the event funds environmental learning scholarships, said Jenny Paige, the environmental and sustainability manager. Last year, the sale raised about $2,000, which helped four students attend conferences.

This year’s sale is smaller than in the past, Paige said. Normally, the university collects about 8 tons of donations. But because of the economy, students could be holding onto items they would have thrown out, she said.

Betty Betts, a self-proclaimed garage sale enthusiast, said she comes to Cram and Scram for “the thrill of the hunt.” She went home with a coffee pot, lamp and a necklace.

“This is my element,” she said. “Many of the people here are that kind of person.”

After 11 a.m. today, shoppers can take home a garbage bag of items for $2. Anything left at the end of the sale will be donated to Urban Ministries.

“The whole point is keeping this stuff out of the landfill and putting it to purpose,” Paige said.

Contact Tricia Nadolny at 373-7028 or tricia.nadolny@news-record.com