MANILA, Philippines—Environmental groups together with running priest Fr. Robert Reyes staged a “BasuRun” Tuesday to dramatize their call for Canada to take back the garbage it shipped to the country in 50 container vans in 2013.
About 50 members of Eco-Waste Coalition, Ban Toxics and Greenpeace Philippines ran with Reyes from Paseo de Roxas Avenue to the RCBC building on Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City where the Canadian Embassy was located. They stayed in front of the building for about an hour, at times shouting: “Canada, take back your waste.”
“These toxic wastes are the worst form of expressing friendship between our two countries. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is an embarrassment to the civic-minded and environmentally conscious Canadian. We know this is not the real Canada. We urge Prime Minister Harper to take immediate action,” Reyes said.
The 50 container vans full of various waste materials and hazardous wastes like adult diapers from Ontario-based Chronic Inc. started arriving in Manila in late 2013. The contents of the container vans were declared as “scrap plastic materials for recycling.”
“It’s been more than a year and yet we are battling the same problem. The Canadian government won’t listen but they should and we will not stop until they take back the illegal shipment that they dumped in our country,” said lawyer Richard Gutierrez, executive director of Ban Toxics.