Canada takes trash back
Credit to Author: PATRICK ROXAS, TMT| Date: Thu, 30 May 2019 16:18:42 +0000
Vessel arrives at Subic; 69 containers to be returned
Canada is finally taking back tons of garbage shipped to the Philippines, with a chartered vessel having arrived Thursday afternoon to receive 69 containers in the custody of Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC).
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier this week said the waste would be shipped out May 30, but reports as of press time said loading would only be completed early Friday morning. All updates, including photos and videos, would come from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) told the media.
Canada originally shipped 103 containers of trash in 2013, but the contents of 34 were “locally disposed” in succeeding years, environmental activists said as they warned that the Philippines could become the recipient of even more garbage, given a ban imposed by China — for decades the world’s largest importer of recyclable waste — six years ago.
This so-called “Green Fence” has led to garbage from developed nations being shipped to other countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia, which this week also said it was shipping back tons of waste to Canada, the United States and Australia, among others.
In the Philippines’ case, Canada missed a May 15 deadline imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte, prompting Manila to recall its envoys to Ottawa and curbing official travel as part of a “diminished ties” policy.
Duterte even said the Philippines would ship the garbage back at its own expense and dump it in Canadian waters if Ottawa refused entry. Manila’s rhetoric prompted the Canadian government to announce last week that it had hired a company to handle the shipment.
On Thursday, Malacañang expressed optimism that bilateral ties would return to normal.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters that the recalled envoys could “most likely” return soon.
“If the reason for the recall was the trash, then if the trash has been brought back, so there is no more reason [to keep them from returning.] That is the logic,” he said.
The MV Bavaria docked near the SBITC at around 2:30 p.m., according to reports, while the DFA said loading would begin at 3 p.m., to be completed by 2 a.m. Friday. An SBMA source, however, said late in the afternoon that loading had yet to start.
Environmental groups staged a protest ahead of the shipment’s departure. Aileen Lucero of Ecowaste said the mass action would cap “creative protests” mounted since 2014.
“This should serve as a lesson. We need to learn… and make sure that this should never happen again. We should not allow any country to dump their waste in our country for our dignity and for the safety and health of our people and our environment,” she added.
Other green groups also told legislators on Thursday that Canada’s move could fail to deter other countries from dumping their garbage in the Philippines, again citing China’s ban.
“We should be wary now that more waste will be coming into the Philippines illegally because of the Green Fence of China,” Mother Earth Foundation Chairman Sonia Mendoza said.
“That’s why we have this waste now from Australia, South Korea and other countries,” she added.
“The Bureau of Customs has a big duty to check all the ports because countries are not bringing [the garbage] to Manila, but to far-flung ports.”
South Korea shipped back tons of garbage sent to the Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) in January, following protests.
Container vans of waste from Australia were also discovered at the southern port earlier this month, prompting a warning from Malacañang.
Customs officials also found electronic waste shipped from Hong Kong at the MICT and officials from the Chinese territory have promised an investigation.
With a reports from EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ AND GLEE JALEA
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