Thursday, May 23, 2019 ~ BC.
~ West Shore Voice News
Garbage in containers that was inaccurately labeled as plastics for recycling and taken to the Philippines in 2013 and 2014 will now be removed by the end of June and returned to Canada, said Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in a news release yesterday.
Originally 103 containers of what ECCC is calling a “mixture of recyclable materials (plastics, paper) and household waste” were sent to the Philippines by a private Canadian company Chronic Inc. The contents are now apparently known to have been wrongly labelled.
While the export of such material was allowed under Canadian regulations at the time, the import of mixed plastics and household waste is prohibited under Philippines regulations. On May 10, 2019, the Government of Canada issued a request for proposals to bring the waste back to Canada. Following the competitive process, a contract was awarded to Bolloré Logistics Canada.
Now 69 containers remain for return, with 34 of the original batch having already been disposed of in the Philippines, reportedly despite objections from local officials and environmental groups.
ECCC Minister Catherine McKenna’s office said the garbage will be treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements including those of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s International Waste Directive, and will be disposed of by the end of this summer.
Preparation and transportation from the Philippines, and handling and disposal of the waste material in Canada, will be carried out in accordance with Canadian requirements.
Due to the mixture of materials and the fact the containers have been sitting in warm weather untreated for five to six years, it’s reasonable to conclude that most of the material will end up in landfill back in Canada. Even paper and plastics in urban recycling blueboxes that are found to be contaminated present a lessened opportunity for recycling.
Today ECCC said the returning material will be brought to the Vancouver area. “Details regarding the disposal site are still being finalized. The company will begin preparation for shipping in the coming days,” said an ECCC media relations spokesperson.
The cost to bring the materials back to Canada is around $1.14 million through the Government of Canada’s contract with Bolloré Logistics Canada. The costs associated with the preparation, transfer, shipment, and disposal of the waste will be assumed by the Government of Canada, it was stated in yesterday’s news release.
ECCC said in the release that in 2016, Canada amended its regulations to prevent future exports of such material without a permit. Canada is also looking at ways to hold the responsible parties to account.
“The Government of Canada maintains ongoing discussions with the Government of the Philippines to ensure a positive outcome to this issue in a timely fashion. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, spoke to her counterpart Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Locsin, last week to reiterate Canada’s firm commitment to promptly repatriate the waste to Canada,” it was stated by ECCC.