--- description: President Duterte says he will ship trash back to Canada and dump it in the ocean near Canada if the country doesn't take it title: Philippines Threatens to Dump Canada's Trash in the Water image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cacc8040d3afad2/69894a4be76ad22a93634b2a/philippines-canada-garbage.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Philippines](/tag/philippines/) ## Philippines Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Philippines Says It Will Dump Garbage in Canada's Waters If They Don't Take It Back by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 23, 2019 6:08 AM CUT  Environmentalists stage a protest outside the Canadian Embassy to demand the Canadian government speed up removal of garbage shipped to the country, Manila, May 21, 2019. Environmentalists stage a protest outside the Canadian Embassy to demand the Canadian government speed up removal of garbage shipped to the country, Manila, May 21, 2019.Bullit Marquez—AP by [Amy Gunia](/author/amy-gunia/) ## Amy Gunia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong. May 23, 2019 6:08 AM CUT The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, says his government has hired a private shipping company to send containers full of Canadian trash [back to Canada,](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/23/philippines-threatens-to-dump-rubbish-back-in-canadian-waters-as-row-deepens "undefined") vowing to dump the rubbish in Canadian waters if the country does not accept them, according to the _Guardian_. Tensions have been increasing over the waste since the North American nation [missed a May 15 deadline](http://time.com/5590097/philippines-recalls-envoys-canada/ "undefined") to take back truckloads of garbage it sent to the Philippines from 2013 to 2014\. Last week, the Philippines called home its ambassador and consuls in Canada. “The Philippines as an independent sovereign nation must not be treated as trash by other foreign nation,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a press conference, according to the _Guardian_. He also said that Canada, who has agreed to take the trash back, was not taking the issue seriously enough. **Read More:** [_Malaysia to Send Plastic Waste Back to Where It Came From_](http://time.com/5593314/malaysia-send-plastic-garbage-back/ "undefined") The junk – which was sent under the guise of recyclable plastic scraps – includes household trash like plastic bags and bottles, newspapers and diapers, according to the Associated Press. Canada says the trash shipment was part of a commercial transaction made independently of the government. According to the _Guardian_, Canada has already agreed to take it back and is working out arrangements to do so. “The removal will be complete by the end of June, as the waste must be safely treated to meet Canadian safety and health requirements,” said a statement issued by the Canadian government Wednesday, according to the _Guardian_. It also said that a company had been hired to carry out the rubbish repatriation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5594237/philippines-canada-garbage-dump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5594237/philippines-canada-garbage-dump/"},"headline":"The Philippines Says It Will Dump Garbage in Canada's Waters If They Don't Take It Back","datePublished":"2019-05-23T06:08:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:35:04.885Z","description":"The Philippines' government says Canada isn't taking the issue seriously enough","url":"https://time.com/5594237/philippines-canada-garbage-dump/","keywords":["Philippines","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cacc8040d3afad2/69894a4be76ad22a93634b2a/philippines-canada-garbage.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amy Gunia","jobTitle":"Gunia was a reporter for TIME based in Hong Kong.","url":"https://time.com/author/amy-gunia/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cacc8040d3afad2/69894a4be76ad22a93634b2a/philippines-canada-garbage.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"philippines-canada-garbage","caption":"Philippines Canada Garbage","creditText":"Bullit Marquez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/philippines/","name":"Philippines"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5594237/philippines-canada-garbage-dump/","name":"The Philippines Says It Will Dump Garbage in Canada's Waters If They Don't Take It Back"}}]}] ```