Britain Wins the "World Trash Collection Cup" in Japan

Britain won first place this week in the inaugural edition of the World Trash Collection Cup (Spogumi), an initiative aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues. The tournament, held in the Japanese capital Tokyo, featured 21 teams from around the world. Teams, consisting of three members each from distant countries like Australia and Brazil, scoured the streets of Shibuya and Omotesando for 90 minutes, divided into two periods, gathering waste and then sorting what they collected into similar categories. The British team, named "The North Will Rise Again," triumphed over the Japanese team, the host country, which came in second, earning 9046.1 points after collecting 57.27 kilograms of trash. Upon receiving the trophy on Wednesday, British team leader Sarah Barry remarked, "Perhaps many of the other teams were more environmentally conscious and less about sports, and we may have been the opposite, but we took our need to clean our oceans and reduce waste more seriously." She added, "It was a really good experience." Japan is known for its high standards of health and cleanliness, making it difficult for some competitors to find trash.