What started as a solitary morning jog has grown into a global sport that's changing how people think about trash.
About two decades ago, Kenichi Mamitsuka, an avid runner in Kagoshima, Japan, began picking up litter during his daily runs. At first, the habit felt awkward — passersby stared, and the trash itself was unpleasant. But over time, something unexpected happened.
"The trash I used to find unpleasant gradually turned into targets," Mamitsuka told National Geographic. "I realized I was actually enjoying myself."
That realization sparked the idea for spogomi — a sport whose name blends "sport" with "gomi," the Japanese word for trash. Drawing on his background organizing social sports, Mamitsuka transformed casual litter collection into a structured, competitive game designed to be fun, inclusive, and accessible.
At first, Mamitsuka said that "almost no one understood what we were trying to do," but that began to change as events continued. Presenting litter collection as a sport helped attract people who had never considered environmental action before, he explained to National Geographic.
The goal of spogomi is simple: clean up litter while moving your body and working as a team. What separates it from activities such as plogging is its rulebook. Teams compete under timed conditions, must stay within a set distance of one another, cannot run, and earn points based on the type and weight of the trash they collect. Certain items, such as cigarette butts, are worth extra points.
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Since spogomi was formally established in 2008, roughly 190,000 participants have collected an estimated 440,000 pounds of trash, according to the Nippon Foundation Spogomi Federation. The sport's growth culminated in the first Spogomi World Cup in Tokyo in 2023, which featured teams from 21 countries. By 2025, that number had grown to 34.
For many players, the sport becomes a gateway into environmental awareness. "I wasn't someone who had previously picked up litter or knew much about the environment or climate," Sarah Parry, a member of the United Kingdom's 2023 championship team, told National Geographic. "That has changed now through spogomi."
Mamitsuka designed the rules with accessibility in mind. "I wanted it to be a competition that anyone could take part in — regardless of age or gender," he said in his interview with National Geographic, adding that banning running was a deliberate choice to keep the playing field level.
While spogomi alone doesn't address the root causes of pollution, researchers say it can help build awareness and encourage broader engagement.
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$200 or more 💰 Mamitsuka hopes the sport inspires participants to take action beyond the game itself. "Environmental issues — especially marine litter — are global problems that affect all of humanity," he told National Geographic. "Spogomi is a way for everyone, anywhere in the world, to take part and contribute."
As the movement grows, his vision remains ambitious. "Our long-term goal is to grow spogomi into a truly global sport, something as widely recognized as soccer or tennis," Mamitsuka said.
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