Groups laud scheduled shipping of Korea trash
TOXIC MESS The pile of mostly plastic trash stored at the Phividec Industrial Authority compound in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, awaiting reshipment to South Korea. —JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, Philippines — Environment watchdogs welcomed the announcement of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to return to South Korea this month the remaining trash stored in a facility in Misamis Oriental province.
Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) based in Davao City and EcoWaste Coalition in Quezon City lauded the BOC’s decision to finally ship back the imported trash to its country of origin.
Both groups were referring to the 5,177 metric tons of mixed garbage repacked and stored inside the Phividec Industrial Authority compound in Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental.
The trash was what remained of the 6,500 MT of plastic waste imported by Verde Soko for recycling but were confiscated by the BOC in 2018.
The BOC said they intended to ship back the remaining trash to South Korea on Jan. 19 and Feb. 9.
“The long wait will soon be over. In line with President Duterte’s directive banning waste imports and in cooperation with the South Korean go¬vernment, we are shipping back the remaining waste to its origin on Jan. 19 and Feb. 9,” John Simon, BOC district collector for Northern Mindanao, said in a text message.
Clear signal
“The reexport of the ‘misdeclared’ waste to where they came from should send a clear signal to all parties that our beloved country is not a global dump [site] and that waste traffickers will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
The trash will be put in 60 container vans and will be transported by an international shipping line to Pyongtaek City in South Korea.
“[This is] good news for the people of Mindanao as we assert our unwillingness to be an entry point of hazardous waste from overseas.”
“The reshipment of the South Korean waste to its source is a historic win for our people and the environment,” said Chinkie Golle, Idis executive director.
Environmental injustice
“Sending back the remaining waste will help in correcting the grave environmental injustice inflicted on Mindanaoans, in particular, and the Filipino people, in general,” said Aileen Lucero, EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator.
But Golle said the reexportation would still only be a “partial victory as the culprits behind this toxic mess have yet to account for their misdeeds.”
The trash was confiscated by the BOC for “misdeclaration” and because of the importer’s failure to get a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Ban on waste imports
EcoWaste Coalition again urged the national government to speed up the ratification of the Basel ban amendment and to adopt a full ban on foreign waste importation to “protect the country against trafficking of illegal waste.”
The Basel Convention Ban Amendment prohibits the export of hazardous waste for all reasons, including recycling, from countries belonging to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, European Union and Liechtenstein to developing countries like the Philippines.
“Ratifying the Basel ban amendment and further prohi¬biting the export of all waste to the Philippines will be our best legal protection against waste trafficking,” EcoWaste Coalition said in a statement.
