A few green facts about the World Cup

The World Cup kicks off today. Many people have pulled sickies to watch it. Some work places have installed projectors with matches being played on TV. Others just find find relevant and topical ways to tie football into their jobs. Like me. So, here's your Green Guide to the World Cup. Some green facts you might not have known.

- 9 teams competing in the world cup will be wearing jerseys made from recycled plastic bottles. These teams are Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, England, New Zealand, Australia, Serbia, Slovenia and Korea, are among the teams who will be sporting the shirts. This process reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared to standard manufacturing of virgin polyester. Apparently, Nike has prevented nearly 13 million plastic bottles going into landfill sites which would be enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.

- Africa's very first high speed train, the Gautrain, has been built, just in time for loads of people traveling to matches to board and avoid the congestion in South Africa. Top train speed is 160 km/h (100mph) and although its not that fast, it's still a big deal.

- The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa is made from 30% reused materials form the old stadium. The stadium also has rainwater collection system, water-saving installations, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems and natural ventilation design.

- The Carbon footprint of this year's World Cup is a billion cheeseburgers. Why cheeseburgers are the new measure of carbon, I'm not too sure. According to the Guardian the impact of millions traveling to the match, energy used in construction and facilities and many other sources make this World Cup produce 6 times more carbon than the last one in Germany.

- The South African Government, in partnership with UNEP are issuing 'Green Passports'. These passports are to help tourists make sustainable choices as well as inform people of the local environment, like where to find rubbish bins and recycling facilities. There's info in there as well about eco-tourism and low carbon travel.

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