Recycle for Humanity
Accessing the Situation
The Los Angeles Almanac reports that an estimated 254,000 men, women and children are living homeless in Los Angeles County at some point during the year.
While a $.05 California Redemption Value (CRV) per can might seem like little to your average person, a bag of cans could be the difference between a warm meal and a night of starvation for one of these 254,000 people.
Combine that with these facts on aluminum recycling:
- Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline
- Making new aluminum cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy than producing them from scratch
- A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf as a new can, in as little as 60 days
The EXTRA Cans website features links to both Earth 911’s recycling locator database as well as a listing of homeless shelters throughout the U.S. While the site is currently concentrated in California, Hennessey is promoting the program to friends in Boston and is considering a bus tour for promotion.
“This is the new California Gold Rush,” says Hennessey, which explains why the organization’s logo is a gold can. “While only 11 states currently provide a redemption value for containers, we’ve been approached by senators about a national bottle bill.”
