Philippines finally ships back dumped waste to Canada

A cargo ship carrying tonnes of dumped rubbish from Canada has been shipped back by the Philippines last week, marking an end to the diplomatic row between the two countries that took off more than five years ago.

The 69 shipping containers of rotting waste were loaded onto the M/V Bavaria at Subic Bay port in the wee hours of Friday, before embarking on a 20-day journey to Vancouver, in southwestern Canada, Al Jazeera reported.

"Baaaaaaaaa bye, as we say it," Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin wrote on Twitter, along with images of the vessel leaving.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier threatened to forcibly ship back the rubbish, which officials said was transported to the Philippines in 103 containers in 2013 to 2014, and falsely declared as recyclable plastic scraps.

The return of the rubbish removes a six-year thorn in relations between the two countries, especially under Duterte, who took office in mid-2016.

The two countries had sought to resolve the problem for years, with Trudeau saying in 2017 that legal issues preventing the return of the garbage had been resolved.

The return, however, was delayed by other issues despite Canadian assurances of its willingness to take back the garbage that Trudeau said was shipped to Manila in a private commercial transaction.

Canada's Environment Minister Catherine McKenna welcomed the news of the rubbish being returned, telling reporters on Thursday: "We committed with the Philippines and we're working closely with them.