This week, the kitchen staffs at the Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville and Shelburne have started using the green bin composting program.

The staff believes that by composting food waste from patient services and the onsite cafeteria, the hospital can divert 23,000 kilograms

23 metric tonnes) of organic waste from the landfill.

The diversion estimate is based on a kitchen waste audit conducted by the County of Dufferin last month.

"At Headwaters, we not only want to be a leader in quality health care, we also want to be an environmentally responsible hospital that is doing its part to reduce our environmental footprint," Headwaters president and CEO Bob Baynham said in a press release. "The green bins are one of several initiatives the hospital has undertaken to go green."

Nutrition services staff working with the county staff designed and implemented the program based on their specific needs.

"The bins were selected so they are large enough to use and easy for staff to roll in and out of the kitchen area," said Orangevillebased nutritionist Kathy Vrij.

In January, Headwaters created a "green team" made up of front-line staff, to develop an action plant making the hospital more environmentally friendly, and the implementation of green bins is part of the plan.

The team is also working to enhance the already established recycling program by making more blue bins available throughout the buildings and launching an environmental awareness campaign.

Other environmental initiatives undertaken by the hospital include:

• an energy retrofit project, undertaken to reduce energy consumption in Orangeville, in partnership with Honeywell, completed in 2003. It resulted in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 800 tonnes annually.

• support for Habitat for Humanity's "every can counts" aluminum can campaign by having collection boxes available at the hospital.

• a ban on pesticides for landscaping on hospital property.

• volunteers planting 50 trees in perennial gardens on the grounds in Orangeville.

• all printer cartridges being returned to the supplier for refills.

• partnering with organizations who take used hospital equipment and send it overseas to be used as second hand equipment.