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Canada to Take Back Waste From Philippines – Ottawa

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Canada’s Environment and Climate Minister Catherine McKenna vowed on Wednesday, to have all the waste that was dumped in the Philippines over the years shipped back by the end of June.
Sputnik

A private firm, Bollore Logistics Canada, has been awarded the contract to bring back tonnes of garbage that sparked strongly-worded criticism from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

"The company will begin preparations for shipping in the coming days. The removal will be complete by the end of June", the ministerial statement read.

READ MORE: Trash Wars: Philippines' Duterte Orders Garbage Shipped Back to Canada

The Canadian government will pay all associated costs. The waste, reportedly a mix of adult diapers, newspapers, plastic bottles and bags will be disposed of before the end of this summer.

Dozens of containers with trash, labelled as recyclable materials, were shipped to the Philippines by a private Canadian entity in 2013 and 2014 in what Ottawa said was a commercial deal. Instead, the containers arrived in Manila filled with household trash, among other things.

Duterte Vows to Send Tonnes of Trash to Canada After Threatening to Declare War
The Philippines have since been trying to make Canada ship the rubbish back. In 2016, a Philippine court ruled that the refuse was to be returned to Canada, but the process still has not been launched.

In early May, Canada finally offered to take back the containers of trash, after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Canada with "war" if the garbage was not removed from the country.

The president gave Ottawa until 15 May to start shipping back the garbage and warned that if Canada did not comply, the Philippines would dump the garbage on Canadian shores themselves.

READ MORE: Philippines' Duterte Vows to Declare War on Canada for Garbage Smuggling

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