Metro Vancouver will securely dispose of approximately 1,500 tonnes of repatriated Canadian waste shipped from the Philippines at its Waste-to-Energy Facility in Burnaby waste by the end of the summer. It will take about two days to dispose of this waste. The federal government will pick up the tab for shopping and waste disposal, about $250 per tonne.

According to characterization studies from the Philippines, a private business shipped 1,500 tonnes of waste, mostly paper and mixed plastics, with low levels of contaminants like electronics and household waste, to the Philippines from the Port of Vancouver in 2013 and 2014.

“For decades, Metro Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy Facility has responsibly processed waste material from the international airline and shipping industries, as well as other materials designated for secure disposal by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency,” said Metro Vancouver Board Chair Sav Dhaliwal. “We have the technology and capacity to safely and efficiently handle this type of material.”

Metro Vancouver is working with Environment and Climate Change Canada on the logistics of receiving the waste. Environment and Climate Change Canada expects the waste to be removed from the Philippines by the end of June.

“Strict handling and disposal criteria must be followed whenever there is a risk of biological or agricultural contamination ... in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Jack Froese, Chair of Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Committee.