PepsiCo Inc has revealed their new eco-friendly bottle, which is made entirely of plant material. The bottle is made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Pepsi plans on using peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other organic waste from its food business to manufacture these bottles as well.

The soda giant says it is the world’s first bottle of a common type of plastic called PET made entirely of plant-based materials. Coca-Cola Co. currently produces a bottle using 30% plant-based materials and recently estimated it would be several years before it has a 100% plant bottle that’s commercially viable.

Pepsi is going to test the new bottle next year with several hundred thousand bottles. Once they are certain they can successfully produce the bottle at that scale, it will begin converting all its products over.

eBay can see themselves as a little greener today, after announcing the new “eBay Box” which is made from completely recycled materials, feature water-based inks, and are designed so as to limit the amount of tape used.

According to the eBay website “if every box gets reused at least five times, we could protect nearly 4,000 trees, save 2.4 million gallons of water and conserve enough energy to power 49 homes for a year.”

The eBay Box will go live in the US from October, around 100,000 boxes are accepted to be in circulation. eBay is also hoping that buyers who receive the box will then turn into sellers to reuse it.

Recently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its annual 100% Green Power Purchaser list which represents organizations that buy enough alternative power to meet 100% of their entire electricity use.

Many hotels made that list and the one that stands out the most is the Talbott Hotel which happens to not only be one of the best luxury hotels in Chicago but the first Green Seal-certified hotels in the United States.

Green Seal is a Washington DC based non-profit that provides environmental certification science based standards. What’s different about the Green seal’s standard-setting process is that it works as a collaborative process making its rules fairer and allows for complete transparency gathering its input from industry, government, academia and the public.

The Talbott Hotel met the Green Seal approval not only by offsetting 100% of its electricity with the use of wind power but also has and extensive recycling program, all of it equipment from lighting to heating is energy efficient and rewards its guests for responsible practices by purchasing one month carbon offsets.

Forward thinking company Novacem has developed a new type of cement mixture and they recently received a cash investment of 1.7 million dollars from Imperial Innovations, the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and the London Technology Fund.

Novacem’s cement mix is based on magnesium oxide and special mineral additives, removing the usual blend of heavy CO2 producing bases such as limestone and calcium carbonate from the mix. The manufacturing of this new cement causes minimal CO2 emissions as it requires lower temperature processing. Even in application, the cement hardens by absorbing greenhouse gas, and continues to do so as it ages.

This new generation of green cement systems aims to combat global warming by locking atmospheric CO2 into construction materials.

BPA, or Bisphenol A, is a primary ingredient in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics. These same plastics, which are used in the manufacture of baby bottles, toddler cups and food containers, have been linked to diabetes, brain damage, developmental abnormalities, and pre-cancerous changes in the prostate and breast, amongst a host of other terrifying ailments.

Last year, researchers in England reported an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, liver problems and diabetes among people with the highest concentrations of BPA in their urine.

Chemical industries have lobbies their hearts out against these bans, citing several studies funded by the chemical industry that showed no adverse effects in animal tests. Even the FDA has deemed BPA safe.

With the California Senate now taking the matter into it’s own hands, it joins several others – last month, Chicago became the first city to ban BPA and Minnesota did the same a week earlier. Last year Canada became the first country to ban BPA in baby bottles. Some parenting sites are publishing lists of baby bottles that are BPA-free.

The Coca-Cola Company, which has been a major contributor to the plastic bottle overload that our planet has been suffering from over the last couple decades, has started to make headway towards becoming more sustainable. Reps from Coke said that they are developing a new plastic bottle that is partly made from sugar cane and molasses, raising the bar in the battle for the most environmentally friendly packaging.

The Coca-Cola Company will test the new bottle in the US with Dasani bottled water and a few of their different carbonated brands later on this year. The eco-friendlier bottle test will further expand to the Vitamin Water brand in 2010.

30% of the new plant-based bottle will be made from a material derived from sugar cane and molasses, which is a by-product of sugar production, Coke said. Coca-Cola’s biggest rivals in the beverage universe, PepsiCo Inc and Nestle are also introducing lighter-weight bottles that use less plastic.

Long touted (by themselves) as a “healthy” alternative to oil soaked potato chips, Sun Chips is claiming that by 2010, they will begin selling their chips in compostable packaging. The new bag will be made of a plastic which is born from renewable, plant based materials (PLA) and that you’ll be able to compost it in your home compost pile.

Home composting appears to be a growing trend, so the idea of a fully compostable bag is promising to say the least, especially if it impacts and influences other companies looking to cash in on the benefits of making themselves more eco-focussed. Research done on the new chip bags indicate that they’ll compost in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions in 12-16 weeks at temperatures over 55 degrees.

The new Sun Chips bags are made from polyastic acid, or PLA, a unique polymer. According to the press release from Sun Chips:

PLA is made from lactic acid. Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation.
Dextrose is made from starch and starch is made from carbon dioxide and water. Because it’s made with plants that grow annually instead of petroleum (which takes millions of years to form) the impact on greenhouse gases is much lower.

This could mean big things for the future of food packaging. Now we just need to figure out a way to stop ourselves from eating entire bags of chips in one sitting.

Seventh Generation (a green cleaning product producer) has collaborated with WebMD , a popular online health information site, and Healthy Child Healthy World, a nonprofit dedicated to helping parents create healthier home environments for their children. The result is an online virtual guide called Health eHome.

Health eHome lets users tour through a houehold checking “hot spots” where products are often used which can be detrimental to the health and environment. You click around the virtual home and get warnings about potential health and environmental dangers.

According to a survey sponsored by Seventh Generation 58 percent of people who use household cleaners don’t check the to determine if they contain ingredients that are harmful to their health or environment.

It’s important to be informed about the kinds of chemicals we are breathing in and adding to our water supply. Check out the WebMD Health eHome virtual tour to find out more.

Michelle Obama visited over 100 students and graduates from YouthBuild USA programs, a youth and community development program that simultaneously addresses core issues facing low-income communities: housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development, who showed Obama their green building techniques.

The Youth Build USA program is undergoing an increasing emphasis on green building techniques. More than 120 Youth Build staff have received training in “green construction”. The program targets that, by no later than 2013, at least 75 percent of Youth Build homes will be “green homes.”

The Huffington Post reports, “First Lady Michelle Obama will join the effort, bringing visibility to the expanding program and, we hope, to its shift toward a ‘greener’ approach in line with the Green Jobs focus. And, Members of Congress (such as Senator John Kerry and Representative John Lewis) will also join the effort.”

One of the most important factors in making your home more energy efficient, and therefore cutting your energy bill bin half, is having your house properly insulated. Thoughtfully ans sustainably designed homes that utilize insulation, thermal mass design and sustainable energy alternatives, such as solar panels, can save some homeowners up to 50% on their yearly energy consumption.

There are lots of great, green alternatives when looking for home insulation. See if you can find ceiling insulation made from sustainable materials, such as Goldenfleece wool insulation. All natural wool fibre has great insulating properties, with the CSIRO claiming, “wool insulation performs better because of it’s ability to rapidly absorb moisture from the air.”

A company called Bonded Logic has developed an eco-friendly insulation that is made from 85% post-industrial recycled denim leftover from the manufacturing of blue jeans. This scrap material is collected and layered into panels and then treated with a solution that acts as a fire retardant, mold, mildew and pest blocker. This eco-friendly insulation is a zero-waste product since it requires very little energy to make and uses materials that were likely headed for a landfill.

There are also many do-it-yourself add-ons you can consider during the colder months to conserve heat and save money on those energy bills. Seal draughts with door snakes or utilize thicker curtains on your windows to keep out the cold air. If you live in a particularly cold climate, installing and maintaining your caulking and weatherstripping is an easy and affordable way to keep heat in, and energy costs low. In one bedroom apartments, direct your heat with the use of room dividers.

Properly designed and well installed insulation is a key factor for an energy-efficient home. With a recently heightened awareness of the global economic recession and of the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, eco-friendly insulation will be one of the ways homeowners upgrade to ensure their home meets these new eco standards, and, as an added bonus, save them money during these difficult times in our economy.