Recycle for Humanity
by Trey Granger
Published on September 4th, 2007
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We’ve all seen people with shopping carts or plastic bags full of aluminum cans using the $.05 cash refund per can for living expenses. For them, whatever “inconvenience” that comes from recycling is offset by the crucial income it will provide.
Mystery Mike Hennessey knows what it’s like to live on a similarly-tight budget. Growing up in Massachusetts, he lived on welfare in a housing project and once witnessed his mother sell her shoes and walk barefoot in winter for $20.
This experience helped fuel his desire to assist the less fortunate, particularly the homeless population. After starting a career acting as a Hollywood extra, he soon realized that the craft service table at TV/movie sets was a gold mine for recycling revenue.
From this, EXTRA Cans for the Needy was born. Hennessey served as an extra in October 2006 for the movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and convinced the head of catering to give every can and bottle on-set (about 250 per day) to the homeless of Los Angeles.
Since then, Hennessey has gotten several other partners, both with Hollywood influence and not:
- EXTRA Cans filled 25 recycling bins (almost 1,000 recyclables) at the Global Green Pre-Oscar party and Ultimate Green Room Pre-Oscar Event with both glass and recyclables
- The TV show Monk provides its empty containers to EXTRA Cans, and Monk star Tony Shaloub is so interested in the program that he asked if EXTRA Cans would pick up recyclables at his house
- Other Hollywood sets that have contributed recyclable containers include the TV shows ER and Everybody Hates Chris
- Hennessey teamed up with sixth graders in Southern California to collect over 3,000 cans by asking people in their neighborhoods
- Based on Hennessey’s idea, a construction worker in Southern California collected 100 bags of recyclables from various sites and went around playing Santa Claus to various homeless people
EXTRA Cans took all these cans and bottles directly to people in need in Los Angeles, removing only a few cans to cover the cost of gas. For Mystery Mike, the campaign is not about turning an individual profit on recycling.
“My main thing since childhood has always been to make a difference,” says Hennessey. “Everyone has been so gracious with their empties, especially when they hear what will be happening to them.”
