Environmental studies students combined efforts to creatively demonstrate how to re-purpose waste.

The 260-pound Cob Bottle Brick Bench is preventing roughly 11,400 pieces of trash from ending up in a landfill.

The bench began as a result from a student’s idea in the Environmental Studies 200; “Projects in Sustainability” class last fall. It is located at the end of Friendship Plaza on East Campus.

Michelle Murchison, environmental horticulture student, brought her idea to her classmates after being inspired by speaker, Brennan Bird, founder of the Peace on Earth Bench Movement.

She attended the California Student Sustainability Coalition gathering when she was introduced to the idea of the bench.

Murchison and her classmates began to work on the project, collaborating with another class group to incorporate a “living roof.”

The Student Sustainability Coalition plans to finish the project by the end of this semester, when campus officials will decide whether or not the bench can stay.