A new mascot is in town and her name is Nurse Susie.
Unveiled today during a Women’s Month Program at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) in Quezon City, Nurse Susie advocates waste minimization, responsible healthcare waste management, and sustainable practices in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Today’s program also marks the kick off of the Nurse Susie Roadshow, a series of visits to hospitals across the country to bring her advocacy closer to healthcare workers and communities.
Nurse Susie represents the Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign of the Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project (HCWM Project) that is being implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) together with the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR (DENR-EMB) and civil society organization BAN Toxics.
The Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign is the HCWM Project’s advocacy and awareness-raising initiative, promoting proper healthcare waste management as a way to reduce the release of toxic and hazardous chemicals — making hospitals safer for healthcare professionals, waste workers, patients, and communities.
“We chose Nurse Susie as the central character of our campaign because women represent more than 70% of the health profession worldwide. Women are at the frontlines and are always at risk of being exposed to the dangers of hazardous healthcare waste. Introducing her to the public this Women’s Month also serves as recognition of the important role of women in protecting public health and the environment,” said Jam Lorenzo, HCWM Project Manager and BAN Toxics Deputy Executive Director.
The program also featured a talk by clinical toxicologist Dr. TereAnthony Abella, who discussed the potential risks and impacts of hazardous chemicals from healthcare waste on women’s health, tying the campaign’s advocacy directly to the Women’s Month theme.
Nurse Susie’s reveal was accompanied by her very own theme song, whose lyrics capture her 4Cs slogan for achieving toxics-free hospitals: Change old habits, Cut plastics, Commit to reuse, and Champion sustainability. According to Lorenzo, the slogan encapsulates important issues in healthcare waste management that the project wants to address. These include insufficient awareness on proper waste segregation, high volume of waste generated driven by reliance on plastics, and limited access and awareness to environmentally sound treatment technologies that would ensure sustainability.
Last year, the HCWM Project conducted a waste audit across three of its partner hospitals, finding that plastics dominated waste composition — accounting for 77% at Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC), 78% at Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC), and 84% at QMMC. The bulk of this plastic waste stems from patient-care and daily-use disposables, with sanitary products, infectious materials such as cotton and gauze, and medical textiles including aprons, masks, and gloves making up over half of the total. Non-medical items such as foodware and bottles also contribute significantly, underscoring how hospital clients, visitors, and the general public play a role in the overall plastic waste burden within healthcare facilities.
According to Lorenzo, reducing plastic use is one of the ways to ease the burden of high waste volumes for hospitals, as well as reduce the potential release of hazardous chemicals. “Plastic waste is a potential source of toxic chemicals in the environment, and when burned, can emit unintentional persistent organic pollutants (UPOPs) such as dioxins and furans.”
The findings of the waste audit, which was conducted with the help of Healthcare Without Harm Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA), recommend exploring alternative materials and reusable systems that maintain infection control standards while reducing waste volume, including the introduction of reusable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), washable medical textiles, and durable patient linens, which could significantly minimize hospitals’ dependency on single-use plastics.
During the program, Nurse Susie distributed reusable water containers to attendees as a practical nudge toward moving away from single-use plastics. Information materials promoting the Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign, including flyers, posters, and hand fans, were also handed out.
The Nurse Susie Roadshow continues on March 25 at EVMC, followed by a visit to CVMC in April.
About the project:
The Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project aims to strengthen healthcare waste management nationwide, with a special focus on reducing emissions of hazardous substances such as dioxins and furans and ensuring the safe and proper disposal of mercury. The project is implemented by UNIDO and the DENR-EMB, with funding support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and BAN Toxics as the executing partner.
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