herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system structure or manner the present invention involves using alkyl esters of lactic acid which have heretofore been unappreciated for their surprising disinfectant properties to disinfect environmental surfaces in accordance with the present invention it has surprisingly been discovered that compositions based on alkyl lactate esters have remarkable antibacterial properties the compositions of the invention comprise alkyl lactates wherein the alkyl group has 1 to 12 carbon atoms according to a first embodiment of the present invention the environmental surface disinfectant contains a lactate as the antimicrobial ingredient this lactate can be either methyl lactate butyl lactate or propyl lactate according to another embodiment of the present invention the environmental surface disinfectant contains ethyl lactate as the antimicrobial ingredient ethyl lactate is non toxic and is used in foods and cosmetics in addition ethyl lactate has a mild odor and is not corrosive or reactive with most solid substrates antimicrobial activity of the composition is attained at concentrations of ethyl lactate greater than two per cent achieving maximal antibacterial activity at ethyl lactate concentrations of approximately fifty percent accordingly the preferred concentration range.