A Memorial to Milly Zantow

When you look at the bottom of a plastic container before recycling it, do you ever wonder who created that ubiquitous system of triangles and numbers? Milly Zantow, a little known woman from south central Wisconsin had a vision, set out to make a difference in the world, and did. Although many have never even heard of her, she is one of the most important people in the recycling community. Milly is responsible for creating that system of numbered triangle symbols on the bottom of plastic containers.

Raised to reuse and recycle, Milly was always sensitive to waste. Back in the 1970s she was surprised to hear that a rural Sauk County, Wisconsin garbage dump was to be closed early because it was filling up so fast. Milly went to the dump and sat and watched as people dropped off their garbage. One thing she noted was that a majority of what she saw was made of plastic. She believed that something had to be done. She contacted a local milk jug manufacturer and came to an exciting conclusion – that the plastic could be ground down and reused.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "Zantow pushed to introduce plastics recycling to the area. After laying groundwork with lawmakers, communities and industry, in 1979, Zantow co-founded the first complete recycling service in Sauk County, E-Z Recycling, which handled more than 200,000 pounds of materials in its first full year."

Milly died in 2014 at the age of 91. She never saw a monument in her name, but a group of Sauk County Institute of Leadership program participants wish to raise funds to place at least one memorial for this inspirational woman who did so much with so little. Our goal is to place a personalized bench with a custom-made art piece in the newly constructed Harvest Park located in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. The art piece is to be made of recycled metal materials; the bench will be made of recycled plastic and feature a memorial in Milly's honor. We would also like to place an informational sign describing her contribution to the world of recycling. We have contacted a local bench company that will assist in providing the bench and have been in discussions with local artists that will create a one-of-a-kind sign befitting such an icon.

View our KickStarter page:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/141142540/milly-zantow-recycling-pioneer
Our Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/MillyZantow

Harvest Park, in Reedsburg, Wisconsin is the home of The Ruminant, a must see as a part of the county’s up and coming Fermentation Fest. Having a memorial for Milly in a place where a combine was recycled into a beautiful art piece feels right. Follow the link below to learn more about The Ruminant: http://www.karlunnasch.com/project-pages/2013.10-ruminant-stained-glass-harvesting-combine.htm
 
Harvest Park is a highlight of the yearly Fermentation Fest and will be seen by thousands of people: http://fermentationfest.com/

(pamela thompson)