As the season transforms, the San José State campus is seeing small changes around Tower Lawn.
Convertible benches were added around the lawn in the beginning of the fall semester from Facilities, Development and Operations (FD&O).
Maria O’Callaghan-Cassidy, senior associate vice president of FD&O, said the first phase of implementation of convertible benches are the 12 new convertible benches across campus.
“We did some research and we located a company that made them and we ended up purchasing them,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said. “They’re really for not only additional study space across campus, but we were hoping to add them for additional areas for collaboration and a more modern look across campus.”
The $284.99 convertible benches were purchased from Lifetime Products which convert from benches into tables for outdoor seating and dining, according to the product page on its website.
“We have gotten, I don’t know, at least ten calls and emails, both from faculty, staff and students saying that they’ve been an incredible addition to the campus,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said.
FD&O provides campus services in multiple areas from buildings and facilities, grounds and landscaping, custodial services and more, according to its webpage.
The Outdoor Space Upgrades project is in progress with Phase 2 of the implementation of 28 additional convertible benches this month, according to the Campus Construction and Maintenance Projects webpage.
“They’ve been such a huge hit that we have purchased an additional 28 and they are going to be deployed through the month of October and multiple areas across the campus,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said.
Niki Rodiguez, a third-year aerospace engineering student, said she noticed the benches around Tower Lawn two weeks ago.
“I really like them more than the other benches ‘cause it gives me the options to eat here or study for exams,” Rodiguez said.
In September, FD&O had closed Tower Lawn to add new light fixtures and improve safety for students, according to a Sept. 4 article from the Spartan Daily.
“The president has a vision for this campus and FD&O is going to make that vision a reality,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said. “We’re in full swing with beautification across this campus. It deserves it.”
Later projects that FD&O wants to implement in the future are the custom-branded, solar-powered BigBelly trash cans, according to the FD&O webpage.
These trashcans are smart compacting and include real-time notifications to keep the campus cleaner, according to the same webpage.
“They’re going to be deployed across the campus and they are solar powered, compacting trash cans,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said.
The installation for the smart trash cans are planned for December, according to the same webpage.
Kaili Mallari, a fourth-year environmental studies student is the director of the Environmental Resource Center at SJSU.
The resource center is a student-run organization that runs sustainable events on and off campus, according to their Instagram account.
“I have heard about these and I think they are a cool addition,” Mallari said. “I just hope that they keep the single waste stream program running even with these new trash cans.”
Single waste stream is a system that includes recycling materials, such as paper, cardboard and aluminum, into a single waste collection system that is separated at a Materials Recovery Facility, according to the Container Recycling Institute webpage.
“Everything is recycled in San José, it’s just one single stream,” O’Callaghan-Cassidy said. “It actually gets transported and separated at another facility.”
SJSU uses the single-stream waste collection strategy where trash and recycling is sorted at a sorting facility, according to a June 4, 2024 SJSU Workshop & Studio Waste Disposal Guide.
Arella Taparan, a fourth-year environmental studies student, has been the Environmental Resource Center co-director since August.
“I think solar powered garbage cans are a great way to reduce garbage overflow and keep areas with a lot of foot traffic cleaner,” Taparan said. “Although I get the idea behind solar powered garbage bins, I feel like there are other ways SJSU can invest in sustainability that will have a larger impact.”
SJSU was placed in the top 6% of universities internationally for sustainability practices, receiving a “GOLD” rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability of Higher Education, according to a Nov. 26, 2024 article from the Spartan Daily.
Despite single stream recycling seemingly straightforward, it can lead to materials not always being separated correctly and higher costs of sorting that lead to lower recycling rates, according to a Feb. 17, 2021 article from Recycle Track Systems.
“Although I get the idea behind solar powered garbage bins, I feel like there are other ways SJSU can invest in sustainability that will have a larger impact,” Taparan said. “All organizations, SJSU included, can always do better in terms of sustainable practices and waste management.”
