Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he'll "go to war" with Canada if it doesn't take back trash that was illegally shipped to Manila around six years ago.
The nearly 2,500 tons trash was sent by a Canada-based plastics company without import clearances. Some of it is still sitting at the Port of Manila, according to CNN.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2017 he was trying to find a solution for the trash problem. Now, Duterte is threatening to sail the trash back to Canada and dump it there.
The Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said in a statement that the countries are working together to get rid of the waste.
It's been common practice for companies to ship recyclable waste to Asian nations, but that's becoming more difficult. China used to take in half the world's trash, but it stopped accepting a majority of it last year in an effort to curb pollution. Other countries can't take in as much trash as China did, and Western countries haven't found long-term solutions to the problem.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
