The modern world runs on trade, that’s pretty much a fact. The United States especially relies on a lot of imported goods in order to have its highs standard of living. 95% of the world?s cargo moves by ship. Hundreds of ships with hundreds more steel cargo containers, all moving across the seas carrying millions of dollars worth of cargo.

The most iconic of these steel shipping containers is the 40 foot shipping containers. It appeared in films, it’s what people think of when they imagine steel cargo containers. You think of them at the docks or on a large ship, full of goods from other parts of the country or world.

But did you know there are other uses for these storage containers?

They can be torn apart and the materials used for materials in homes, offices, and other buildings. For each recycled container, you can reuse around 3,500kg worth of steel. That means saving on all traditional building materials, like wood, brick, or stone. This is important because, though there are 17 million shipping containers in the world, only 6 million of them are being actively used.

That’s 38.5 billion kg worth of steel, and enough to build many, many, homes and other structures.

We could save a tremendous amount of raw materials by recycling these unused containers, especially since they can last up to 20 years with good maintenance. That means that most of them could still be in good working condition, and prime for recycling.

There have been many homes designed and crafted with storage containers, and many of them look amazing. The right architect can work wonders with the right materials, and it would mean saving a lot of wood and other resources in construction. Used storage containers can be found online or locally, at docks and shipping companies.

There’s a lot of them sitting unused, remember?

So if you’re thinking of building a new home but don’t quite know where to begin? You should take a look online at some of the designs made with storage containers. There’s a lot, and they all look amazing. Very industrial, yet modern. You can also find the best architects for the job, too.

Just be sure to check, in person, all the containers your buying.