Remaining SoKor garbage shipped back this month

MANILA, Philippines — At least 100 shipping containers of plastic waste illegally shipped to Northern Mindanao in 2018 will finally be returned to South Korea.

Quoting John Simon of the Bureau of Customs-Northern Mindanao, EcoWaste Coalition said 50 shipping containers would be shipped back on Sunday and the other 50 on Feb. 23.

Simon said 50 shipping containers were re-exported on Jan. 19 and 51 others on Jan. 13.

“The re-exportation of the remaining wastes from South Korea... signifies our nation’s steadfastness to protect public health and the environment from the deceptive trade in hazardous waste disguised as plastic waste for recycling,” Simon told EcoWaste in a text message.

Cargo ships Vivaldi and Nordmarsh will bring the plastic waste to its point of origin.

EcoWaste  national coordinator Aileen Lucero welcomed Simon’s announcement, saying it would “help bring the dumping controversy to a close.”

“To deter illegal traffic of waste in the future, all those responsible for this mess should be fully held accountable in accordance with the rule of law,” Lucero said.

Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp. imported the shipments that were misdeclared as synthetic plastic flakes.

The shipments arrived at the Mindanao International Container Port on July 21 and Oct. 20 in 2018.