A cargo ship has arrived in a northern port in the Philippines, and is ready to return a massive pile of rotting garbage to Canada — 1,500 tonnes to be exact.

A cargo ship arrived in a northern Philippine port on Thursday to transport 69 containers of garbage back to Canada that officials say were shipped illegally to the Philippines.

Canada is a world leader in waste production. Trash is being thrown right back in its face. And recycling isn't exactly a solution, said one expert.

The president of the Philippines says if Canada doesn't take back tonnes of trash within the next week he will "declare war" and ship the containers back himself.

Canada will not sign on to an amendment to an international treaty that could bar three dozen countries from shipping any kind of garbage, even recyclables, to the developing world.

In 2013 and 2014, a total of 103 shipping containers from Canada labelled as plastics arrived in the Philippines for recycling, but Filipino customs inspectors determined the containers were actually filled with debris from Canadian trash bins.