What could you do with a used steel shipping container? Actually, just about anything. There are around 20 million shipping containers in use in the world at the present time. As shipping containers, they have a lifespan of 10 to 12 years. But that’s just the beginning. Used shipping containers can be transformed into offices, sheds, extra storage, portable offices, dens, playhouses, container pop up shops and just about anything else you can think of. Shipping containers can be modified to fit many different functions in their post-shipping life. Reusing used storage and shipping containers is the environmentally friendly choice.
Are steel shipping containers durable and versatile?
Shipping is the world’s largest industry, hands down. It has to be because it carries 90% of the world’s traded products. In fact in the U.K., shipping accounts for a greater share of the GDP than the revenues from restaurants, takeaway food, and civil engineering combined.
Typically, shipping containers are made of steel. They have floors made of 1-1/8″ thick marine plywood. At one end, there are lockable double doors. The standard type is the 40 foot shipping container. Other kinds include:
- 20 foot shipping containers
- Refrigerated and insulated containers
- 40 foot high cube containers
- Specialty containers
The dimensions of the commonest types are 20 feet long x 8 feet wide x 8 feet 6 inches high and 40 feet long x 8 feet wide x 8 feet 6 inches high. This makes them suitable for a whole range of non-shipping purposes as well. In fact, they’re the perfect size for a portable concession stand as well as many other uses. They are portable and can be moved onto a 20- or 40-foot chassis.
Why buy used shipping containers?
Used shipping contacts have typically been used in international shipping for 10 to 12 years. They are sold in wind- and waterproof condition. Storage container modifications can be customized with doors, windows and skylights, climate control, interior modifications, locking mechanisms, shelving, and more. The outside can be painted in suitable colors, and even be decorated with logos.
As sheds, portable offices, even playrooms or clubhouses for kids, used storage containers will provide years of trouble-free use. They can be customized to look like a cozy log cabin, inside and out. Recycling and reusing shipping and storage containers makes a major statement about our values.
What could you do with a used shipping container?
From extra space for your office to a portable concession stand, shipping containers can be used for just about anything. They can serve as gardening or storage sheds, even as a writer’s retreat. Federal and state government agencies and municipalities, college and high school campuses, small businesses especially in landscaping and construction and homeowners all find uses for shipping containers.
Portable offices are one of the most popular used for used shipping containers. Office managers have found that adding even a little more space and privacy increases workforce productivity noticeably. The number of sick leaves had been found to be proportional to the number of people working in a single office space. As the number of people working in a single room increases, so do the number of sick leaves.
A portable office made out of a modified shipping container offers extra space for employees, and reduces the incidence of sickness.
Reusing shipping containers is a smart and creative choice, recycling a handy object that is both durable and versatile. Artists and architects around the world have had a field day transforming used storage and shipping containers into motels, tiny apartments, concession stands and more. Now it’s your turn!
