I have always been a firm believer that things truly do happen for a reason, and that nothing is a coincidence. One is strategically placed in certain situations for variety of reasons. May it be to learn from it, to grow from it, or in this case… to change it.

In hindsight, I have come to realize that the seeds have been planted early on 🌱

• Perhaps one of the reasons why I was guided to go to law school in the Philippines was so that I could learn about the Canada Waste case below.
• Perhaps I was meant to move in to an apartment that does not recycle so that I could be aware of that fact that recycling is not mandated here. That the cognitive dissonance I’ve been feeling since moving in will urge me to finally do something about it.

Finally, on August 25, 2025, recycling is back in our building. You can read all about that journey here:

Bin There, Done That: Bringing Recycling Back to Downtown Winnipeg Apartment (A Tenant Advocacy Journey)

The advocacy work does not stop there, however. This is just one building, among the many in the Province of Manitoba… no scratch that, the whole Canadian Nation… actually no, the Global population as a whole… that do not recycle. Guys, it’s bad. This is a photo I took from my recent solo European travel.

This was in Lisbon, Portugal:

In Barcelona, Spain:

It’s not all bad though for they have these in other areas as well.

This was in Faro, Portugal:

And plenty of these in Barcelona:

Be that as it may, this is the sad reality our actions/ inactions are causing:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNe0sHAMUj2/?igsh=bnBvaXU0MGR6a2Rq

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Okay…I know that’s a really big fish to fry, so for now, we’re staying local. Fix first what we can. For Manitoba, I ask. How many more waste are being generated when recyclables could be easily diverted with proper waste management? Can we not encourage consumers and producers alike by incentivizing (or penalizing) through a program that closes the loop? This could be beneficial economically too by providing jobs and extra income to people by simply recycling!

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I am just thinking out loud here, and I admit this research is still in its early stages. This blog will henceforth serve as a dumping ground of the facts I’ve learned thus far.

1. “Canada Waste” Dispute

Before migrating to Canada, I attended law school for two years at the University of Santo Tomas. During my first year, we read a jurisprudence in Constitutional Law about Canada illegally transporting its waste to the Philippines. My homeland. Remember when I said the seeds were being planted early on? Who would have thought that I’d be a citizen of Canada? Yep, the irony is not lost on me. It was like I was being strategically placed in the contrast. The dichotomy. The transgressor and the transgressed. The global North and the global South.

Photo source: CBC

Here is a timeline of the course of events:

ipen.org