INTERVIEW
【Why do you pick up trash? vol.4】
in THAILAND
49 teams, the most significant number in the SPOGOMI World Championships Qualifiers, participated in the Thailand Qualifying Tournament, which was hotly contested. The participants started out en masse from Siam Paragon, a huge shopping mall in the capital city of Bangkok, as soon as the event started. When we approached the team, which was the most motivated team among the participants, we were told that the team consisted of two rehabilitation science professors from Thammasat University in Bangkok and a former student who had played for the Thai national wheelchair basketball team. We spoke with Team 〇 (Maru), including the first wheelchair participant in this event.
■PROFILE Team 〇（Maru）
Sudarat-san [on the left] and Sairag-san [on the right] from Thammasat University, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, and Tanasarn-san [in the middle] from SPADT Thailand (an organization promoting para-sports in Thailand)
Sudarat-san：I saw an ad for a Thailand competition operator and became interested, so I invited my colleague Sairag-san and my former student Tanasarn-san to join me. Thammasat University, where I originally worked, was also involved in various environmental initiatives, which is why I became interested. It was the first time for me to separate garbage since the culture of sorting has not yet taken root in Thailand, but I thought it was easier than I expected. It was a very good event for protecting the environment and for strengthening the bond of the team, and it was a lot of fun. Thailand is just now starting to change, and in the midst of sorting and switching from disposable to reusable bottles, there is sometimes a lot of littering, but I hope that repeating events like this will help reduce littering.
Tanasarn-san：I enjoyed participating, but as a wheelchair user, it can be difficult to move around in areas with many steps, such as the venue for this competition. Also, the tongs and other items were short and sometimes difficult to reach when sitting in a wheelchair. On the other hand, the Siam Group, which is providing the ceremonial venue for this event, was considerate of our participation in the opening ceremony and competition by moving the elevators out of business hours. It is not often that venues take this kind of action.
Sairag-san：In areas that were difficult for him (Tanasarn-san) to pick up, he acted as a commanding leader, directing me to the competition area and areas where trash was accumulating, which helped me concentrate on picking up the trash. Unfortunately, we did not win a prize this time, but we would like to keep practicing for the next time and try to teach through education by implementing this kind of initiative at the university as well.
While Thailand has been experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years, some social systems, such as garbage separation, are still not in place. The Siam Group, which cooperated in this competition, showed progressive efforts by collecting resources at its stores and handing out coupons in exchange. Through SPOGOMI, we hope we were able to convey not only the problem of marine litter but also the opportunity to raise awareness of litter as a resource. On the other hand, the organizers also learned a lot for future competitions, such as setting the competition range in expectation of the participation of people like Tanasarn-san and preparing long tongs for the competition. We cannot wait to see how the Thai representatives, who won the fierce competition among 49 teams, will fare in the finals in Tokyo.
