How the Japanese turned garbage collection into a nationwide sport (4 photos)

The secret of the cleanliness of the cities of the Land of the Rising Sun is revealed.





Many Japanese are passionate about a relatively young sport - SpoGomi. At first glance, this hobby may seem strange, because the Japanese compete neither in jumping, nor in running, nor in swimming, but ... in the collection garbage.



For the first time such competitions were held in 2008, and in 15 years SpoGomi has truly become something of a national sport. The name is derived from two words: sport and gomi, and the latter translates as "garbage". Recently, the Japanese media announced, that in November Tokyo will host international competitions for the first time. Teams from all over the world will compete to see who can collect the most garbage.

Perhaps the answer is obvious, because hardly anyone can win against the Japanese. It has long been known that the creators of the strange sport clean all public places that they themselves visit.

So how is the SpoGomi championship going? It begins with the motto: “Gathering garbage is a sport!”.





Usually there are 3-5 people in a team, and one team is assigned certain area. All participants are provided with durable gloves and uniform, they also get huge tongs with which you can pick up trash without bending over. The team is given 60 minutes in which to must collect rubbish in their area. But not just to collect it, but also sort by category: put plastic in one bag, put it in another metal cans, in the third - something else. Then the collected garbage checked and evaluated. Points are awarded for each item, the most expensive "lots" are cigarette butts. The team becomes the winner so that scores the most points.



SpoGomi winners are awarded prizes from sponsors, but they rather symbolic. For the Japanese, the main thing is participation, they just enjoy the spirit of competition, time spent outdoors air, as well as the opportunity to maintain cleanliness in your city.