Danville Regional Medical Center is “going green” this summer with a new program that will recycle nearly 75 percent of the hospital’s disposable materials.
The hospital-wide initiative will accept a variety of materials for recycling, including fluorescent light bulbs, computer electronics, batteries, newspaper, plastic and aluminum cans, according to a DRMC news release. These materials will be collected in bins placed around the hospital and then picked up by the City of Danville to be properly sorted.
“As a large facility, we recognize that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our materials and dispose of them in the most environmentally friendly way,” CEO Eric Deaton said in a news release. “Danville Regional is a community hospital, and we hope that we can lead by example and encourage everyone in the Dan River region to be more mindful of recycling.”
The recycling program is estimated to reduce waste that would normally go to the local landfill by 324 tons — or 648,000 pounds — annually.
Danville Regional is also recycling old computers, monitors, broken telephones and other electronics. The electronics are taken to Computer Recycling of Virginia, where they are refurbished and donated to Virginia schools, the release continued.
By recycling these electronics, thousands of pounds of environmentally toxic materials like mercury are diverted from Virginia landfills, where they could eventually contaminate soil, streams, rivers and lakes.
“We are very excited to get this new recycling program going,” Joan Yeatts, director of Environmental Services at Danville Regional, said in a news release. “This initiative will help the community by significantly reducing the amount of waste in the local landfill and decreasing the energy and pollution that results from incinerating large amounts of trash.”
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