Shipping out of South Korean trash seen to begin on June 30
MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 12:11 p.m.) — Philippine and South Korean officials agreed to ship out on June 30 the remaining 5,000 metric tons of garbage from the East Asian country that arrived in a Mindanao port last year.
Rep. Juliette Uy made the statement Friday after the South Korean government led by Ministry of Environment Director General Jung Young-dae met with Philippine government officials in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental Thursday.
“For the next two weeks, the imported garbage consignee Verde Soko and a logistics firm will undertake the rebagging and transport of the garbage from Phividec [Industrial Estate] to the port in shipping containers,” Uy said.
According to the minutes of the bilateral meeting released by EcoWaste Coalition Friday, the South Korean government would start the shipping procedure from the Port of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental “as soon as possible.”
Both South Korea and the Philippines, however, “understood that in Korea it might take some time to secure and allocate the budget for shipping.”
According to the minutes of the meeting, “the government of the Philippines desires the re-exportation to be conducted in compliance to the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately remove foreign waste as soon as possible.”
The Philippine government, for its part, agreed to bear the responsibilities concerning repacking, containerizing and transporting waste from the importer’s premises to the Philippine port and clearing the Customs, including demurrage charges at the Philippine port.
The first batch of garbage-filled containers weighing 1,400 tons was sent back to South Korea last January. The shipment, which was misdeclared as plastic synthetic flakes, contained used batteries, diapers and dextrose tubes, among other hospital wastes.
The shipment was consigned to Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp.
Earlier this month, at least 69 containers of mixed wastes from Canada that arrived in 2013 and 2014 were finally shipped back to Ottawa.
Last week, a container van loaded with 25,610 kilograms of plastic scraps and shredded gadgets and computers were back to Hong Kong. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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