Hannah Ellis-Petersen - Philippines ships 69 containers of rubbish back to Canada
The Philippines has followed through on its threat to send 1,500 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish back on a boat to Canada, ending a six-year dispute between the two countries. Wilma Eisma, administrator of Subic Bay freeport, confirmed that the 69 containers of garbage had been loaded overnight on the container ship M/V Bavaria, which left on a 20-day journey to the Canadian port city of Vancouver, via Taiwan. Eisma said the the move ended a “sordid chapter in our history”.
The dispatch of the Canadian rubbish, which had been sitting in two Philippine ports since 2013 and 2014 while Canada refused to acknowledge the issue, was a cause for celebration in the Philippines.
Environmental activists, including those from Greenpeace and EcoWaste Coalition, sailed around Subic Bay on a small boat carrying with a streamer reading, “Philippines: not a garbage dumping ground!” while foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin posted on Twitter: “Baaaaaaaaa bye, as we say it,” alongside images of the vessel leaving.
Canada’s environment minister Catherine McKenna welcomed the news of the waste being returned, telling reporters on Thursday: “We committed with the Philippines and we’re working closely with them.” The rubbish has been a source of contention between the two nations for years, after it was discovered the containers had been brought in falsely declared as recyclable plastic when it was in fact electrical and rotting household waste. However, in recent months the issue had escalated into a full-blown diplomatic dispute.
The Philippines won a legal case last year which ruled Canada had to take responsibility for the waste, but no further action was taken by the Canadian government. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte then took a very personal interest in the saga, demanding that Canada take back the waste or vowing to have it towed and dumped in Canadian waters... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/31/philippines-puts-69-containers-of-rubbish-on-boat-back-to-canada
The dispatch of the Canadian rubbish, which had been sitting in two Philippine ports since 2013 and 2014 while Canada refused to acknowledge the issue, was a cause for celebration in the Philippines.
Environmental activists, including those from Greenpeace and EcoWaste Coalition, sailed around Subic Bay on a small boat carrying with a streamer reading, “Philippines: not a garbage dumping ground!” while foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin posted on Twitter: “Baaaaaaaaa bye, as we say it,” alongside images of the vessel leaving.
Canada’s environment minister Catherine McKenna welcomed the news of the waste being returned, telling reporters on Thursday: “We committed with the Philippines and we’re working closely with them.” The rubbish has been a source of contention between the two nations for years, after it was discovered the containers had been brought in falsely declared as recyclable plastic when it was in fact electrical and rotting household waste. However, in recent months the issue had escalated into a full-blown diplomatic dispute.
The Philippines won a legal case last year which ruled Canada had to take responsibility for the waste, but no further action was taken by the Canadian government. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte then took a very personal interest in the saga, demanding that Canada take back the waste or vowing to have it towed and dumped in Canadian waters... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/31/philippines-puts-69-containers-of-rubbish-on-boat-back-to-canada
