MANILA, Philippines – South Korea committed to take back some 5,100 tons of trash shipped to the Philippines last July.

In a statement released by the South Korean embassy in the Philippines on Thursday, November 22, the Korean government said it would “take measures to have the wastes in question be brought back to Korea as soon as possible.”

The statement comes two weeks after the waste was discovered in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

“The Ministry of Environment on November 21 initiated legal procedure to have the wastes in question in the Philippines be brought back in accordance with Article 20 of the Law on Cross-border Movement and Disposal of Wastes – Prior Notice of Repatriation Order – and embarked on investigation of the violation of Article 18-2 of the said law – False Export Declaration,” the statement reads.

The Korean government said it conducted a joint investigation with the Philippines’ Bureau of Customs and found that the exporter misdeclared contents of the shipment.

They found plastic waste mixed with alien materials such as wood and metal wastes which had not gone through an appropriate recycling process.

South Korea vowed to prevent another similar incident from happening.

Verde Soko II Philippine Industrial Corporation, the consignee of the shipment, insisted that the shipment contained raw materials for making furniture. – Rappler.com