Ship carrying Canada trash finally leaves Subic

WE’RE NOT YOUR DUMP Greenpeace activists sail their boat near the container ship MV Bavaria to make a statement as the vessel that will carry Canadian trash back to Canada is towed into Subic Bay port on Thursday. The activists’ banner reads, “The Philippines is not a dump.” —GREENPEACE

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The vessel that retrieved the 69 container vans loaded with garbage from Canada has left this free port on Friday morning.

It took more than 10 hours to load the container vans onto MV Bavaria, which arrived here on Thursday about 2:30 p.m. and left at 7 a.m. on Friday.

“Finally, the containers of garbage transported from Canada and stored at the Subic Bay Freeport for several years now have been pulled out as of today, May 31, 2019,” said lawyer Wilma Eisma, chair and administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

The vessel is en route to Taiwan after departing from Subic Bay before it returns the garbage-laden containers to Vancouver, Canada.

“The [SBMA] documented the whole procedure — from the docking of the ship at Subic’s New Container Terminal-1 in the afternoon of May 30, to the loading of all the 69 containers last night, and up to the departure of the vessel from Subic Bay early this morning,” Eisma said in a statement.

“We thank President Rodrigo Duterte for his decisive action that brought about a satisfactory conclusion to this sordid chapter in our history,” Eisma added.

The Ontario-based Chronic Inc. exported 103 container vans of trash declared as plastic to the Chronic Plastic based in Valenzuela City and to the Live Green Enterprise in 2013 and 2014.

The vans contained mixed waste, including non-recyclable plastic, waste paper, household and electronic waste, and used adult diapers.

Two of the container vans were kept at the Manila international port while 67 others were stored in this free port.

The Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. accounted for 26 container vans that were emptied in its landfill in Capas, Tarlac, in 2015.

Various local environmental groups have called for the Canadian government to remove the trash from the country.(Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)