Thousands of tons of garbage from South Korea has been sitting at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Misamis Oriental since July 21. File photo

MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippine government will start returning to South Korea next week some 6,500 tons of waste that were dumped in Mindanao, a port collector said Wednesday.

An initial 5,100 tons of garbage arrived at the Mindanao International Container Terminal, Misamis Oriental province in July last year. More waste in 51 containers was shipped in October and later transferred to the consignee's compound in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

A later inspection revealed that the shipment contained used dextrose tubes, soiled diapers, batteries, bulbs, and electronic equipment, the environment department earlier said.

Authorities will send the 51 containers of waste back to South Korea on January 9, said John Simon, port collector at the Mindanao International Container Port.

The 5,100-ton batch of waste, meanwhile, has to be carefully repacked before it is shipped back later this month, he told reporters.

The consignee, Verde Soko Philippines Industrial Corp, did not secure an import permit from the environment department and misdeclared the garbage shipment as "plastic synthetic fakes," he said.

Eighty more containers of trash could have entered the country, earning Verde Soko $25 million, had authorities failed to discover the first 2 garbage shipments, said Simon.

The waste will be sent back after a bilateral meeting between Filipino and Korean authorities last Dec. 27 and 28, he said.

Report from Jasmin Romero, ABS-CBN News

