Face of Nation : Containers of Canadian trash that have festered in the Philippines for years are set to be returned to Canada by ship on the long weekend the country marks its 152nd birthday.
The Anna Maersk is scheduled to dock at the Port of Vancouver with the containers of rot on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
It’s the next step in a garbage saga that has led to a diplomatic dispute with the Philippines and drawn attention to the growing global problem of plastic waste.
Canada originally sent containers of garbage to the Philippines for recycling in 2013 and 2014, but there were contamination fears, setting off a dispute.
President Rodrigo Duterte recalled the Philippine ambassador and consuls general last month after Canada missed his deadline to take back the garbage by May 15, saying the diplomatic nightmare was an example of Canada trying to dump its trash on the country.
Just under 70 containers from original shipment finally left the Philippines on June 1. Thirty-four containers were disposed of in the Philippines.
A Canadian official confirmed the ship was hired under a $1.14-million contract Ottawa signed with the Canadian arm of French shipping giant Bolloré Logistics to bring the garbage back to Canada.
The trash will be burned in Metro Vancouver’s waste-to-energy incinerator in Burnaby, said to be the most environmentally sustainable way to get rid of the garbage.
