Bali Hosts SpoGomi, the Sport of Picking up Rubbish

KUTA, Bali (BPN) – The Embassy of Japan in Indonesia and PT Marubeni Indonesia organized a contest of SpoGomi, a combination of ‘sport’ and ‘gomi’ (Japanese for rubbish) at Petitenget Beach, Seminyak, on Sunday (3/12). In Japan, SpoGomi has been held more than 3,000 times since 2008 and is now starting to be developed in Indonesia.

The inaugural SpoGomi was held in Jakarta on July 2022. The second time was in Bali with a total of 139 people from 31 teams competing in the SpoGomi.

According to Takuya Nomoto, Ph.D. Eng., First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia, the amount of waste and proper waste disposal have become a significant concern in Indonesia as a result of the country’s population growth and economic development.

Particularly, Indonesia has the second-largest amount of marine debris in the form of plastic garbage worldwide, right after China.

According to him, marine debris usually comes from rivers in urban areas and thus everyone needs to sort and dispose of waste properly.

“This event is a sporting competition, where we pick up trash and segregate it within a certain time and compete to get a score based on the weight and type of waste,” said Takuya Nomoto.

SpoGomi is a competition that mixes sports with picking up and collecting as much trash as possible to maintain the environment clean in a fun way, according to Shinji Kasai, President Director and Chief Representative of PT Marubeni Indonesia.

“If the surrounding environment is clean, then we will also feel healthy, fresh, and fit. Hopefully, the participants would also get the same feeling through this competition,” said Shinji Kasai, accompanied by Tori Takamura (Vice President Director of PT Marubeni Indonesia) and Hideki Otaki ( Plastics Director PT Marubeni Indonesia).

Mahanani Kristiningsih, Head of the Specific Waste Sub-Directorate of Waste Management and Hazardous and Dangerous Materials (B3) Directorate General said that her party supports and appreciates this kind of activity.

“I hope this kind of activity would encourage the younger generation to take part in cleaning the environment from trash,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Consulate General in Bali Katsumata added, through the 3R program (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), it is hoped that it can raise public awareness not to litter, and carry out effective waste management with waste power plants. In Indonesia right now, waste management is a major issue.

“I hope the SpoGomi event can be a means for the Indonesian and Japanese communities to work together and collect trash happily,” Katsumata said while mentioning, this SpoGomi can promote Bali tourism, and contribute to solving the waste problem in Indonesia and ASEAN.

The result of the SpoGomi contest: The Otsuka Blue Planet Team, Jese 2, and Darochan won appreciation funds totaling IDR 1.5 million, IDR 1 million, and IDR 500 thousand for taking first, second, and third place. While The ASEAN Japan Friendship and Cooperation gave prizes to the winners of fourth, fifth, and sixth place.