MANILA - The South Korean government is starting legal measures to bring back around 5,100 tons of waste that were dumped in Misamis Oriental, south of the Philippines.

This, after Korean authorities found out that the firm behind the garbage shipment made a false declaration when they exported the containers, the Korean Embassy said in a statement Wednesday.

Kim Sunyoung, Minister Counselor of the Korean Embassy, said Korean authorities discovered "alien materials" that were not recycled when they inspected the firm's site in Pyeongtaek City.

"The Korean exporter made a false export declaration of the contents of the shipment, which was originally declared as recycled plastic materials in their papers," she said.

The materials authorities found include "waste wood, metal and other wastes which had not gone through an appropriate recycling process," and mixed with plastic wastes, Kim added.

The Korean official said Seoul's Bureau of Customs had also begun a probe into the exporting company to determine whether they submitted the proper documents.

The company in question was also forbidden from shipping containers found in their site as authorities continue with their investigation.

"The Korean government initiated the legal procedure to have the said shipment of wastes be brought back to Korea by issuing a prior notice of repatriation order," Kim said.

The garbage shipment from South Korea, which were initially declared as "plastic synthetic flakes," were released from the Mindanao International Container Port last July.

The shipment, consigned to South Korean company Verde Soko II Industrial Corp., found its way in the firm's recycling facility in Tagoloan town where residents complained of foul odor.

Authorities discovered in November that the waste from Korea include dangerous materials like batteries, bulbs, old electronic equipment, dextrose tubes, and other hospital wastes.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Verde Soko, which claims the shipment did not contain hazardous materials, is not a registered importer of recyclable materials.