FAQs

Recycle Right with Milk is the NEW Manitoba elementary school milk program. This program supports schools in the promotion of nutrition, leadership and sustainability. Participating schools have the chance to participate in unforgettable student experiences throughout the year.

Recycle Right with Milk is brought to you by the registered dietitians at Dairy Farmers of Canada and is funded by dairy farmers in Manitoba. There is no cost to schools to participate.

Recycle Right with Milk is designed for students in k-6. Students in grades 7 and 8 may also participate.

High schools are not eligible to participate in Recycle Right with Milk. The High School Milk Program is currently under review. Updates will be provided when we have more information to share.

The Recycle Right with Milk Program does not provide a subsidy for milk. The Program highlights milk as a nutritious choice available in the school.

Contact your school division to find out if nutrition support is available. Nourishment programs such as Child Nutrition Council of Manitoba may also be able to provide nutrition support for your school. For additional sources of funding, click here.

Dairy Farmers of Manitoba donated 390,066 litres of milk to Harvest Manitoba in 2022-23. Harvest helps more than 360 community organizations across Manitoba, alleviating hunger in Winnipeg, rural towns and remote northern communities.

Check out the Milk Delivery Contact Lists in the Resource Library.

If delivery service is not available to your town, we encourage your school to get creative! Check with your local grocery store or restaurants to see if they will order milk for the school that can be picked up or delivered.

Recycle Right with Milk compliments existing school initiatives including providing access to milk and recycling. This program encourages nutrition, leadership and sustainability by providing resources, supports and student experiences to amplify your school’s goals.

Recycle Right with Milk has moved away from providing “stuff” to offering experiences. Prizes (incentive items) are no longer included in the program kit. Instead, participating schools are encouraged to nominate their school to win an experience for their students. Some experiences are for the entire school, while others are unique to the school’s Moo Crew. Some of this year’s experiences include tickets to sports events, field trips, and pizza parties.

To participate in the program, milk must be available at lunch at least 3 times a week. If possible, we recommend making milk available every day at lunch.

Schools with milk at breakfast only or during hot lunch days or special days only are not eligible to participate. If schools have milk available at breakfast, we encourage also making milk available at lunch.

Emptying residual liquids before recycling is best practice to prevent contamination of other recyclable materials and prevent recyclables from ending up in the landfill. If a pour pail is not a good option for your school, we recommend considering a designated sink in a classroom, custodian closet, common room, hallway, or simply encouraging students to pour leftovers into any sink before they recycle.

Tracking and measuring are optional; however, these hands-on activities help show students the value of their recycling efforts. We recommend tracking for 1 week in the fall and 1 week in the spring.