THESE are the first lines of a jingle that played as mascot ‘Nurse Susie’ entered the Out-Patient Department of the Eastern Visayas Medical Center in Tacloban City to promote toxics-free and zero-waste practices in hospitals during a road show organized by the Philippine Healthcare and Mercury Wastes Management Project (HCWM Project).
The lyrics reflect the 4Cs slogan of Nurse Susie: Change Old Habits, Cut Plastics, Commit to Reuse, and Champion Sustainability.
Now on its second leg, the Nurse Susie Roadshow is part of the Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign of the HCWM Project, promoting the reduction and proper management of healthcare waste to protect public health and the environment. Nurse Susie was first introduced in January and is the central character of the campaign. The road show kicked off last week in Quirino Memorial Medical Center (QMMC) and is set to go to Cagayan Valley Medical Center (CVMC) in April.
According to Jam Lorenzo, HCWM Project Manager and BAN Toxics Deputy Executive Director, key to the Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign is the reduction of waste generated by hospitals, especially plastics.
“Minimizing plastic use is one of the ways to ease the burden of high waste volumes for hospitals. Plastics are a potential source of toxic chemicals in the environment, and when burned, can emit unintentional persistent organic pollutants (UPOPs) such as dioxins and furans,” Lorenzo added.
Last year, the HCWM Project conducted waste audits in CVMC, EVMC, and QMMC, which revealed that more than 70% of the waste composition of each hospital is plastics.
In EVMC, the initial audit report showed that plastics make up 78% of the total waste composition — 54% from infectious waste, indicating extensive use of medical textiles, sanitary products, and other medical plastics in patient-care areas, and 24% from general or non-hazardous waste, showing that even non-clinical areas are significant contributors to plastic waste. These include plastic foodware and other single-use plastics such as ‘labo’ bags and sachets.
According to Lorenzo, among the interventions of the HCWM Project is looking into reusable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to replace single-use disposables. Meanwhile, the campaign is promoting reusable items such as food and water containers, cloth bags, and face masks to the general public.
“While the majority of plastics in hospitals come from patient-care, reducing dependence on single-use plastics by hospital clients and visitors can significantly help reduce plastic waste. Healthcare waste management is a public health and environmental concern, and thus everyone shares the responsibility,” Lorenzo said.
Nurse Susie and the Toxics-Free Hospitals Campaign is also promoting proper waste segregation, one of the key issues faced by hospitals. Poor segregation and handling often cause contamination, effectively converting general waste into hazardous waste. Hazardous and infectious healthcare wastes are required to undergo treatment first before disposal, which entails added cost for the hospitals.
One of the main interventions of the HCWM Project is the adoption of low- or zero-emission non-burn waste treatment technologies for healthcare facilities to reduce the release of toxic and hazardous chemicals into the environment.
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