World Cup picking up trash in Japan

In the first-ever Litter Picking World Championship, 21 international teams scoured the Japanese capital for rubbish, with England emerging as champions.

Spogomi World Cup, a name combining " sport " and "gomi" (garbage), is the world trash-picking championship, taking place for the first time in Japan on November 22, gathering teams from 21 countries.

Each team of three, equipped with gloves, tongs and trash bags, walked across a 5 square kilometer area in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district to find trash. The teams competed in two rounds in the morning and afternoon, with each round having 45 minutes to collect and 20 minutes to sort the trash.

Points are awarded based on the amount and type of litter, with items such as cigarette butts scoring high. Each team is monitored by a referee. Running, rummaging through trash cans and copying opponents' routes are prohibited.

After a day of competition, England won the championship with 83 kg of trash, while the teams collected a total of 550 kg.

World Cup picking up trash in Japan — Spogomi World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. Video : *Reuters*

These are the 21 teams that won domestic trash-picking tournaments, earning the right to represent their country at the tournament in Tokyo.

The reasons for attending are varied. Three Australians come from a meditation club where “cleaning is part of the philosophy.” Three French members work in waste collection. “We’re good at it,” says Usman Khan of the French team.

Louis Froberville, a member of the South African team, said the streets of Tokyo were clean, making it harder to find trash than in his home country. He believes the competitive collection could have a “huge impact,” adding that schools are a good place to start similar competitions.

Members of the US team compete in Shibuya, Tokyo, November 22. Photo: AFP — Members of the US team compete in Shibuya, Tokyo, November 22. Photo: *AFP*

Spogomi founder Kenichi Mamitsuka got the idea for the sport from his habit of picking up trash during his morning jogs. He held his first competition 15 years ago, believing that the key was to try to change people's attitudes toward trash.

For him, the first World Cup of litter picking is “like a dream”. He is optimistic that the tournament can grow on an even larger scale.

"I have the ambition to include this sport in the Olympic sideline competition, if we can establish the World Spogomi Association," Kenichi said. "Our goal is to be able to organize competitions in 50 countries by 2030."