Plastic Recycling’s Origins in WI, Creating Utopian Communities and Clinton’s Chances in Wisconsin

Air Date:
Heard On Central Time

Would you call your community utopic? A writer talks about the planned cities and little paradises he encountered in his travels around the US. We look at the history of recycling and its origins, and we discuss Clinton’s chances of winning Wisconsin.

Featured in this Show

  • Plastics Recycling Originated Right Here In Wisconsin

    It may come as a surprise to learn that the recycling symbol at the bottom of plastic containers – a global recycling standard – originated right here in Wisconsin. A peek into the life story of plastic recycling pioneer Milly Zantow and how her work continues to drive recycling efforts today.

  • Author Shares Story Of Wisconsin Woman Who Invented Plastics Recycling System

    Milly Zantow of Sauk City invented the global recycling system for plastics almost 40 years ago, now an author has published a children’s book on Milly’s invention hoping to inspire young girls.

    Zantow developed the system of numbers you see inside the little triangle on plastics today that dictate how they’re recycled. Zantow got the idea on a trip to Japan after noticing little bundles on the curb every morning. Each day the bundles were a little different. She eventually realized they were bundles of recyclable materials separated by type.

    Different kinds of plastic can’t be melted down together to be manufactured into something else, so Zantow developed a number system to help people determine how to separate plastics for recycling.

    “Milly figured out an entire system. She figured out it has to be sustainable from a financial point of view. She convinced somebody to figure out how to manufacture things out of the recycled plastic, she figured out how to make the system work from one end to the other,” said Elise Moser, author of “What Milly Did: The Remarkable Pioneer of Plastics Recycling.”

    Moser learned Zantow’s story at Environmental Information Day in Sauk City. At the time she was new to the area and assumed everyone knew about Zantow’s invention, but when she asked around she found out that few did.

    The author decided to share the story in a children’s book because she wanted boys and girls to grow up knowing a woman was responsible for inventing the plastics recycling system.

    “Women’s accomplishments are often not as visible as they should be, and especially in the area of science (and) technology,” Moser said.

  • What Does Clinton Need To Do To Win Wisconsin?

    As we get closer to the November General Election, we’re looking into what each of the candidates will have to do to win Wisconsin. This week, we speak with Political Science Professor Lilly Goren about Hillary Clinton’s chances in the state.

  • A Journey Through American Utopias

    The United States has a long history of intentional communities and efforts to create mini-utopias. An author shares his road trip through the remains of these communities around the country.

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Marika Suval Producer
  • J. Carlisle Larsen Producer
  • Rob Ferrett Producer
  • Elise Moser Guest
  • Lilly Goren Guest
  • Erik Reece Guest