Garbage stranded in Philippines for years to return to Vancouver

Ebenezer Amankwah June 27, 2019

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In this image released by Greenpeace, Greenpeace activists and other environmental organizations display a banner as the cargo ship MV Bavaria, the container vessel allegedly hired to ship back the 69 containers loaded with garbage from Canada, slowly enters the mouth of Subic Bay, Thursday, May 30, 2019 in Subic, Zambales province west of Manila, Philippines. The environmental groups are calling on the Philippine government to ban all waste imports into the country and ratify the Basel Ban Amendment. The banner reads: "Philippines Is Not A Dumpsite!" (Greenpeace Via AP)

Containers of Canadian trash that festered in the Philippines for years are set to arrive home just in time to celebrate the country’s 152nd birthday.

The Anna Maersk is scheduled to dock at the Port of Vancouver, with the containers aboard, on Saturday, June 29 at 10 a.m.

The arrival will bring nearly to a close the garbage saga that led to a diplomatic dispute with the Philippines and drew attention to the growing global problem of plastic waste.

One hundred and three containers of garbage from Canada arrived in the Philippines falsely labelled as plastics for recycling in 2013 and 2014.

President Rodrigo Duterte recalled the Philippine ambassador and consuls general last month after Canada missed his deadline to take back the garbage by May 15.

The 69 containers that are left of the original shipment eventually left the Philippines on June 1.

The Canadian Press