Stink raised vs DENR over Canada waste shipment

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has drawn flak from environmentalist groups for apparently changing its tune and declaring as nonhazardous an illegal shipment of household wastes from Canada that has been rotting in the Port of Manila since 2013.

Ang Nars party-list Rep. Leah Paquiz on Thursday noted that “the DENR said before that the garbage is toxic and hazardous. And now they have another statement that the contents of the shipment are nontoxic.”

“So they changed position. What kind of political will do we have?” Paquiz said in a press briefing in Quezon City.

Public health and environmental advocates, including Ecowaste Coalition and activist-priest Fr. Robert Reyes, have been asking the Canadian government to take back the 50 freight containers that were found to be filled with household wastes in a customs inspection. The shipment came from Ontario-based Chronic Inc. for consignee Chronic Plastics based in Valenzuela City.

A House inquiry was held last week to look into the status of the waste shipment. In a statement submitted to the House committee on ecology, the Canadian Embassy cited a DENR study saying that the contents of the containers “are neither toxic nor hazardous, but are comprised of a mix of plastics and residual waste.”

“We are pleased that this matter has been resolved and would refer you to DENR for an update on their behalf,” the Canadian Embassy statement read.

The embassy also maintained that “the case is a private commercial matter involving a Canadian company and its Philippine partner.” But in the spirit of cooperation, the embassy engaged Philippine government agencies in resolving the issue, it said.

Paquiz said that “when we questioned the DENR representatives, they affirmed that it wasn’t toxic. We’re still requesting a copy of their study. As I see it, why are they double-faced?”

Reached for comment, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said it was an interagency group composed of the Department of Health, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Bureau of Customs and Canadian Embassy that conducted the waste assessment, not just DENR.

“It was the agreed assessment and the interagency recommended based on the composition of the waste that it’s not toxic,” Paje said. “We maintain our position that it was an illegal shipment of the shipper.”

But the Canadian Embassy, through the DFA, also requested that the waste materials be treated here instead of sending it back because the shipment was a private trade and not a government initiative, the DENR chief said.

“Definitely, we will not violate the international protocol on that, the Basel Convention, because there are provisions that would allow us to treat it locally even if it’s hazardous,” Paje said.

Lawyer Richard Gutierrez, executive director of environmental group BAN Toxics, pointed out that under the Basel Convention, “if there is illegal shipment of waste whether toxic waste or household waste, the exporting country must take back the waste within 90 days of notification.”

Canada and the Philippines are parties to the Basel Convention, an international treaty that prohibits developed countries from dumping wastes on developing nations.

“It’s not just a private matter between importer and exporter, it’s also about international law, about honoring international commitments and the dignity of Filipinos,” Gutierrez said.