From US to Malaysia, who will clean out the competition at Japan’s trash-picking World Cup?
- In November, 20 iteams will fight for the inaugural world title by collecting the most litter from the streets of Tokyo in one hour
- Japan’s organisers hope the contest, launched locally in 2008 to encourage people to clean up public spaces, will encourage the growth of the sport elsewhere
Qualifying tournaments have begun around the world to select a national champion team that would scour the backstreets of the Japanese capital for trash.
“SpoGomi”, a combination of “sport” and “gomi” (Japanese for rubbish), was introduced in 2008 as a domestic contest to encourage people to clean up public spaces.
Under World Cup rules, each team has three players and is given 60 minutes to gather rubbish in a designated area. However, the real challenge lies in sorting it correctly into bags for burnable waste, recyclable plastic bottles, metal cans and other categories.
When the time is up, the trash is weighed, and the squad that has collected the most will be awarded the cup and medals. In case of a tied result, extra points would be determined by different types of waste.
Referees will monitor the games where contestants are also not allowed to run and take items from private property, roads or railway tracks.
Takayasu Udagawa, who is overseeing planning for The Nippon Foundation-run competition, said previous SpoGomi events were held on beaches, riverbanks and parks.