Milk Dispensers and Water Refill Stations in K-12 Schools

A project to reduce waste in King County

 

Project reports

Please see our report – Bulk Milk at King County Schools: Gateway to Opportunity (January 2026): Bulk Milk at King County Schools: Gateway to Opportunity

Please see our presentation about the project (video) – Bulk Milk at King County Schools: Gateway to Opportunity (January 2026) – 45 minutes: Bulk Milk at King County Schools: Gateway to Opportunity video   Note: this is a link to the video on utube

 

The Problem: Milk Cartons

Milk is required to be offered to students through the USDA National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Usually, milk is served in ½-pint cartons.

There are three major issues with milk cartons:

  • Cartons are wasteful! They make up the highest percentage of solid waste volume from school cafeterias and are primarily destined for the landfill. Nationally, ~ 275 million cartons are thrown out every single school day!
  • Cartons are toxic. They are lined with a plastic film, which may leach microplastics and expose kids to harmful chemicals.
  • Cartons = wasted milk. About 30% of the milk served in cartons at schools is wasted.

The Problem: Bottled Water

Bottled water has become our country’s #1 beverage.

This is problematic for many reasons including emissions and toxic chemicals from manufacturing, bottling, shipping and disposing of the bottles, and from the waste generated and cost. Bottled water costs about 2,000 times more than tap water!

Many families do not know that King County has some of the highest quality drinking water in the US. Unfortunately, water bottle refill stations are not available in all schools.

The solution: Milk Dispensers and Water Refill stations

With big thanks to King County for an RE+ grant, we offered milk dispenser and water refill stations to K-12 schools in King County (except City of Seattle) through December 31, 2025.

Milk Dispensers

This free program included refrigerated dispensers, installation, cups, dishwashing racks, waste audits, training and logistical support, and more.

Water Refill Stations

We also paid for water bottle refill stations and for their installation, if needed.

Learning cohort

As part of the project, we facilitated a learning cohort to share what’s working, troubleshoot what’s not, and work collectively on creating a successful model for bulk milk across Washington state.

We are looking for schools to participate!

Funds for this initial project were available through December 2025 on a first-come, first-served basis. We plan to continue to work with schools and are seeking additional funds.

For more info about how to access this free offering for your school or join our learning cohort, please contact Heather at heather@zerowastewashington.org.