On Wednesday, Japan held the first-ever Spogomi World Cup, a special contest about cleaning up trash. Teams from 21 countries took part, cleaning the streets of Tokyo for things like empty cans and discarded cigarettes.
The United Kingdom won the first Spogomi World Cup. The name “Spogomi” comes from combining “sport” and “gomi,” which means rubbish in Japanese. The founder, Kenichi Mamitsuka, got the idea from picking up litter during his morning runs. Teams from countries like the United States, Australia, and France collected a total of 548 kilograms of litter.
Each team, made up of three people, used gloves, metal tongs, and rubbish bags to collect trash. They earned points based on how much and what kind of rubbish they gathered. Collecting trash from private properties was not allowed. After each session, teams had 20 minutes to sort the collected litter into categories.
Tomoe Takahashi, a member of the Japanese team, expressed disappointment about not winning but hoped the event would make more people care about environmental issues. The UK won with 57.27 kilograms of rubbish, earning 9,046.1 points. Tokyo will host the second Spogomi World Cup in 2025.
