WRITTEN BY JOHN RAFAEL AMBAG ILLUSTRATED BY JON BONIFACIO
“BAAAAAAAAA BYE, as we say it,” retorts Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin as M/V Bavaria left Subic Bay carrying 69 container vans with approximately 2,400 tons of trash from Canada last May 31. The shipment served as a temporary conclusion between the diplomatic dispute of Philippines and Canada triggered by the six-year stay of illegally shipped Canadian trash in Philippine soil. The Philippine-Canadian garbage dispute began in 2013 as 103 containers containing falsely declared recyclable plastic scraps arrived in the country. The said trash hid from headlines until 2016, once a court ruling established the import of such trash as illegal. Shortly, Canada responded that such shipments were privately sanctioned without the government’s consent and promised to take the necessary measures to ensure the safe transport of scraps. The issue died out. In 2019, an outraged Duterte grew tired of waiting, electing to force feed the shipments to Canada, and threatened to declare war if they refuse. With a deadline in place, Canada was able to comply and here we are. Once again, with the issue seemingly dissipating, one must remember that such instances are not just accidents, they are part of a global issue. Garbage trade Nowadays, with the exponential boom of production from different flocks of the world, raw materials and manufactured products are not the only things involved in trades between countries. With excess production in place, consumption is inevitable, giving birth to the garbage trade. It is common practice for developed nations such as the United States, Australia, South Korea, and countries from the European Union to export their trash elsewhere for recycling. Among these countries, the US is the largest exporter. In 2018, it shipped 78% of its waste —
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157,000 containers of trash and scraps, to developing countries with known waste mismanagement issues, resulting in imminent pollution and environmental degradation for such countries. Before 2018, these developed nations are indebted to China for their waste processing. The country took responsibility for almost half of the world’s plastic waste. In fact, in 2012, Greenpeace reported that the country imported a record nine million tons of trash. The said practice, which amassed boatloads of cash, proved to be unsustainable for their environment due to mismanagement practices, pushing China to cut ties with the trade and ban the import of trash from different parts of the world. China’s decision heavily affected the US, which exports a third of its scraps to foreign countries. Lacking a recipient for their waste, massive loads of plastic and paper piled up in recycling facilities. Inability to process such waste forced authorities to dump them to landfills instead, making the recycling policy futile. Now, with developed countries being stunned of their nanny not wanting to receive their diapers anymore, who picked up the slack? SEA grabs opportunity While the concept of receiving trash from other nations seems disturbing, this failed to stop other countries to step up for China’s absence, giving them the potential to rake in millions to process such wastes. This prompted Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand to take advantage of the opportunity. Malaysia currently stands as the top plastic waste importer in the region. In China’s absence in 2018, the country accounted for an incredulous 872,797 tons of waste imports, a 58.72% increase compared to the previous year. Thailand placed second as it hauled 481,381 tons of trash, a drastic 212.0% increase compared to the previous
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