In a statement, the Canadian minister of environment and climate change affirmed that the Canadian government will cover the full cost of the operation and the garbage will be brought back before the end of June. Earlier on Wednesday, Filipino President Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, announced that local officials had been ordered to find a private shipping company to transport the rubbish back to Canada.
In 2013 and 2014, more than 100 shipping containers were delivered to the Philippines from Canada and they were marked as recyclable materials. In reality, however, they contained some 2,500 tons of household waste.