Transitioning K-12 Schools to Reuse in Food Service

Zero Waste Washington and partners conducted a project to support bulk milk transformation at K-12 schools in King County, Washington in 2025. The project aimed to reduce milk carton and milk waste while enhancing students’ environmental literacy and supporting cost-effective food service operations. Bulk milk is fresher and colder and tastes better for students, reduces milk cartons (which are largely unrecyclable in current systems) and, with some logistics changes, only increases staff time a small amount. The project evolved as the team learned from school staff and infrastructure partners, and significant changes were made from the previous models of implementing bulk milk, including staff training, streamlining food lines, adding technology to address L&I problems, and more. Milk waste audits, school purchasing data, and staff feedback surveys allowed for project evolution and documentation of results. The assistance provided to schools included infrastructure and process changes that were well beyond just the milk delivery and, overall, the project turned out to be a gateway to help schools dramatically improve their food composting. The team convened a Learning Cohort, consisting of professionals committed to advancing sustainability and reducing waste in school lunchrooms, which talked through the many lessons learned, and will continue to be engaged as we work to support more schools make similar transformations across Washington.