World Cup trash cleanup in Japan

In the inaugural World Trash Picking Championship, 21 international teams scoured the Japanese capital, with the British team emerging as the champion.

The Spogomi World Cup, a name combining " sport " and "gomi," is a world championship for litter cleanup, held for the first time in Japan on November 22nd, bringing together teams from 21 countries.

Each team of three, equipped with gloves, tongs, and trash bags, walks across an area of approximately 5 square kilometers in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district to collect trash. The teams compete in two rounds, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each round lasting 45 minutes for picking up trash and 20 minutes for sorting it.

Points are awarded based on the quantity and type of trash, with items like cigarette butts carrying high scores. Each team has a referee supervising them. Running, rummaging through roadside trash cans, and mimicking opponents' routes are prohibited.

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

World Cup trash cleanup in Japan — The Spogomi World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. Video : *Reuters*

These are the 21 winning teams from domestic litter-collecting competitions, earning the right to represent their countries at the tournament in Tokyo.

The reasons for participating are diverse. Three members of the Australian team are from a meditation club where "cleaning is part of the philosophy." Three members of the French team all work in waste collection. "We're good at it," said Usman Khan of the French team.

Louis Froberville, a member of the South African team, said that Tokyo's streets were clean, making it harder to find litter compared to the competition back home. He believes this competitive cleanup activity could "spread widely," adding that schools are a good place to start similar competitions.

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

Kenichi Mamitsuka, the founder of Spogomi, came up with the idea for the sport from his habit of picking up litter during his early morning runs. He organized the first competition 15 years ago, believing that the key is to change people's perceptions of litter.

For him, this first-ever World Cup of garbage collection "is like a dream." He is optimistic that the tournament can grow to an even larger scale.

"I have ambitions to include this sport as an Olympic side event, if we can establish a world Spogomi association," Kenichi said. "Our goal is to be able to hold competitions in 50 countries by 2030."