Department of Geography & the Environment

1
Geography208
Name:
Institution:
Course number and name:
Instructor’s name:
12th February 2020

2
Geography208
Canada’s garbage has been ending up in developing countries for some time now.
Countries are now saying no to Canada’s garbage for various reasons such as knowing the need
to conserve the environment. The Southeast Asian region has had several unlicensed recycling
factories coming up and hence leading to an increase in the trash imports in the countries. Over
time, there has been a growing concern by people regarding the environmental issues
surrounding the waste industry. Canada has been producing more waste per capita than any other
developed country. The result has been the waste being exported to other countries that have
recycling facilities as the waste management program by the Canadian municipal is not efficient
(Chiu, 2020). The waster per capita in Canada is the worst of any country in the world. The
generation of waste can be closely linked with the high rates of urbanization and the
consumption patterns in the country. The lifestyles and the household revenues in the country are
also great contributors to the waste problems experienced by Canada. The past few decades have
seen the per capita income in Canada increasing greatly and causing an upsurge in the household
consumption rates.
The southeastern nations are now fighting back against dumping and the culture of
recycling being brought to them by Canada. Shipping of the wastes to the foreign nations always
seems like a good idea to Canada but it is also threatening the environmental wellbeing of the
countries on the receiving end. As such, this practice has led to several uprisings in countries
such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and China. These developing nations are increasingly growing
weary of the damage being done to their environments by the Canadians (Chiu, 2020). The
Philippines' response to Canada’s garbage was a war threat if the country did not take back the
containers filled with garbage. China, on the other hand, blocked the importation of plastic