Trash barge from Philippines to arrive in Vancouver on Saturday

Containers of Canadian trash that have festered in the Philippines for years are set to be returned to Canada by ship on the long weekendthe country marks its152nd birthday.

The Anna Maersk is scheduled to dock at Deltaportin Tsawwassen with the containers of roton Saturday at 6a.m. PT and transported to Burnaby the next day for incineration.

It's the next step in a garbagesaga thathas led to a diplomatic dispute with the Philippines and drawn attention to the growing global problem of plastic waste.

Canada originally sent containers of garbageto the Philippines for recycling in 2013 and 2014, but there were contamination fears, setting off a dispute.

President Rodrigo Duterte recalled the Philippine ambassador and consuls general last month after Canada missed his deadline to take back thegarbageby May 15, saying the diplomatic nightmare was an example of Canada trying to dump its trash on the country.

Just under 70 containers from original shipment finally left the Philippines on June 1. Thirty-four containers were disposed of in the Philippines.

A Canadian official confirmed the ship washired under a $1.14-million contract Ottawasigned with the Canadian arm of French shipping giant Bollor Logistics to bring the garbage back to Canada.

The trash will be burnedin Metro Vancouver's waste-to-energy incinerator in Burnaby, said to be the most environmentally sustainable way to get rid of the garbage.