This op-ed by Partnership CEO Keefe Harrison was officially featured in MinnPost’s Community Voices section. To read the original post, click here.

In today’s fractured political climate there are few things we can all agree upon, but Twin City residents of all political stripes can support actions that help foster good local jobs and a healthy environment. You can do just that by making sure that clean recyclables make it into your curbside recycling cart instead of the trash can.

Recycling is more than just taking a bottle, can or box out of the trash; it creates material for manufacturing new products out of that plastic, aluminum, steel, paper or cardboard, and in turn supports jobs right here at home. That’s why so many organizations, companies and political leaders have come together here in Minnesota to support this important industry.

At The Recycling Partnership, with help from funders like hometown-headquartered Target and the City of St. Paul, we helped bring recycling carts to more than 78,000 residents. Other organizations like the Closed Loop Fund, along with RSF Social Finance and Calvert Foundation, helped fund almost $10 million in improvements to Minneapolis non-profit Eureka Recycling, a national leader in recycling processing.

Rep. Keith Ellison has also spoken out boldly in favor of waste prevention. Late last month in Minneapolis he addressed more than 50 local recycling officials and 500 attendees at the Resource Recycling Conference. In an inspiring speech, Rep. Ellison called for a zero waste revolution that would benefit both our environment and our economy.

Keefe Harrison is the CEO of The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit organization that applies corporate partner funding to improve recycling systems in cities and towns across the nation.