Are Storage Containers Environmentally Friendly?

These days, consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious and seeking ways to minimize the negative impact they have on the environment. They find ways to do this by making responsible decisions regarding the items they buy and the services used. That way, they can minimize their carbon footprint and contribute to sustainability in various ways. 

But why is there a growing concern for sustainability? This is because global warming is at an all-time high, extreme weather has become increasingly common, biodiversity is rapidly declining, and environmental degradation resulting from pollution has gotten out of control. 

In other words, our planet is in dire need of our help, and some significant changes to our lifestyles and how we treat our environment need to take place if we want to continue to enjoy life as we know it on Earth. 

Companies across a wide array of industries, including the storage industry, have finally gotten on board with our planet’s demands. Many of them now offer alternative approaches to doing things that allow consumers to take steps to contribute to the betterment of this environmental crisis. 

So, when deciding what kind of storage practices to invest in, choosing an environmentally-friendly option is one way to do your part and help protect the future of our planet that we all love and value. 

What are the different ways that storage containers are environmentally friendly?

These days, people are finding an ever-growing number of ways to repurpose shipping containers and give them a second life and extended use. Still, one of the most significant trends is taking advantage of shipping containers’ various safe, secure, and durable features by turning them into storage units. 

Of all the storage practices out there, one of the most environmentally friendly is the repurposing of used shipping containers for storage units, as there are many ways reusing these containers can help our planet. The following are some of the many ways these storage containers are environmentally friendly:

1. Reusing Shipping Containers Beats Recycling Them

Shipping containers are generally made of steel, which is well known to be a recyclable material, so why not just recycle the steel from shipping containers once they have served their purpose in transporting goods? Chopping up a shipping container and melting down the steel to be recycled is less sustainable than simply extending the container’s life by reusing it for storage. 

Cutting, transporting, and melting the container all require significant energy use. On the other hand, merely using this container slightly differently could help “store” all the carbon that would have gone into that process. 

2. Eliminating the Need to Construct Storage Facilities

Traditional storage facilities need to be constructed from the ground up, and a big construction project like that requires not only the use of significant energy throughout the process but also a vast number of materials like wood, metal, and cement. 

The production of these materials also results in the generation of significant carbon, as does the transportation of them, and certain materials, like cement, are particularly bad in this regard, as one tonne of carbon dioxide is generated per every tonne of cement produced. 

However, when you use a shipping container for storage, no extra materials are required, as the shape and size of the container are already optimal for serving its function as a storage unit. Thus, the amount of energy consumed and carbon generated in this transition of use are both minimal. 

The construction of sizeable buildings, like storage facilities, also almost always generates significant material waste, as tons of excess materials are sent to landfills during and after the construction process. However, when this construction process is avoided with shipping container storage, it generates zero waste. 

3. Tackling the Problem of Wasted Containers

Even though shipping containers are incredibly sturdy and durable, they often have a limited lifespan in the shipping industry due to regulations about how long or how many times they can transport goods. Therefore, if people had not found ways to repurpose and reuse shipping containers for storage, hundreds of thousands of unusable shipping containers would be littering docks worldwide. 

By giving a second life to these shipping containers and using them for storage purposes, we are also significantly cutting down on such waste and making these containers much more sustainable. 

4. Repairing Shipping Containers is Environmentally Friendly

First, shipping containers rarely require repairs and only need minimal maintenance thanks to their strength, durability, and resistance to weather of all types and extremities. However, when they periodically require maintenance or repair, this can be done simply and in an environmentally friendly way. 

Scrap metal and parts from other shipping containers can be recycled and utilized for this purpose, and that is often all that is needed to fix in-use containers, preventing the need to fabricate new materials. 

Even when a shipping container is retired and can no longer be used for transportation or other purposes, like storage, its parts can be saved. They can be used for the future repairs of different containers, further adding to the sustainability of this practice. 

How Sigma Container Corporation Can Help Hook You Up with Environmentally-Friendly Storage Containers

If you want to help preserve the future of our planet through sustainable practices and minimize your carbon footprint, consider looking into storage containers for rent the next time you have storage needs that need to be met. Sigma Container Corporation can help you do your part while meeting your storage needs, as we have quality, custom-tailored container products and services at a competitive price. 

Join us in our initiative to reduce, reuse, and recycle so that we can remove thousands of tonnes of waste from landfills and contribute to a greener future for future generations. We have both new and used shipping containers that you can rent, with both standard and specialty container options available and various size options to meet your needs, including 20’ and 40’ high cube containers. 

Whether you need to store excessive inventory, landscaping products, construction tools and equipment, agricultural/farming equipment, household furniture, documents, restaurant supplies, or anything else, we are confident that we have a container for you that will perfectly suit your needs. If you require a longer-term storage solution, we also have the same kinds of storage containers available for purchase.

For more information about our storage containers for rent or to learn more about the types of shipping containers that we carry, call Sigma Container Corporation at 855-340-3342 or contact us here.