The N.C. State College of Design creates some of the most creative and visually appealing works on our campus. However, the creation of all of those models generates a lot of waste. In fact, for the last two months, the N.C. State chapter of the U.S Green Building Council has been collecting materials from architecture, landscape architecture and first-year experience studios and putting it in a storage container.

The USGBC is an organization with over 70 members, and they all share a passion for sustainable practices in buildings, systems and spaces. Since November, they have filled every cubic inch of the container, which by the way, is made of recycled content and donated by PODs, Inc. Materials, such as cardboard, Plexiglas, foam core, museum board, lumber, bass wood, wire mesh, bricks and other random items are now all jammed into this space and are quietly awaiting a new life.

Since the container is filled, it’s time for a great sort. The event, appropriately called The Great Sort, will take place Tuesday from noon until 3 p.m. It will take place in the College of Design Pit, located between Brooks and Kamphoefner and will be nothing short of an extravaganza. There will be games, food and lots of other fun stuff to do besides sorting.

With the help of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Office, the waste will be sorted, repurposed, reused and recycled. The rest will be properly disposed of. As a result of the sort, Waste Reduction and Recycling will crunch the numbers and say how much was diverted from the landfill. They will also report how much waste was produced in the two-month collection period.

Through this event, the USGBC is trying to accomplish a couple of main goals. They want to give students an idea of how much waste is being produced in such a short time. This, they hope, may get students to think twice about their use of materials. They also want to bring attention to the parallel between the waste produced by the College of Design and the construction industry. Over 30 percent of waste in landfills is waste created by construction. That’s a pretty staggering figure, when thinking about how much new material is immediately thrown away without ever being used.

So come out to the Pit Tuesday, from noon to 3 p.m., and be part of the Great Sort. You will be having fun and helping the environment at the same time.

Chris Cioffi is a senior in English and an intern at the Office of Sustainability at N.C. State.