As the earth is nearing a climate emergency, people are trying to find more sustainable ways of life, now more than ever. Sustainable methods are known to reduce the carbon footprint of the earth and also curb global warming. From going zero-waste to finding eco-friendly substitutes to widely used items, people are not leaving any stone unturned towards making the earth a greener and better place to live.

One such sustainable alternative is turning shipping containers into accommodation. Shipping containers are used all over the world to import and export high volumes of goods. As it is cheaper to receive new containers than send empty containers back to the suppliers, buyers usually label these empty containers as waste. This often results in millions of shipping containers lying dormant in shipyards and warehouses all over the world.

However, considering the amount of energy and resources that go into the production of shipping containers, many container dealers have found a better solution for these dormant containers. From an environmental perspective, they are now recycling these containers into affordable and eco-friendly homes. Seeing the growing prices of housing in the UK, S Jones Containers offers versatile, high quality and cost-effective modular building solutions. These modular buildings can be used for accommodation, makeshift classrooms, offices, changing rooms, healthcare clinics, retail spaces, and more.

The innovation of using shipping containers as building materials is providing numerous benefits to the environment. Apart from being affordable, these containers are also known to reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions. As these containers are specifically designed to transport huge volumes of goods safely across the land and sea, they are huge, strong and flexible. This makes shipping containers mobile and versatile enough to serve as small modular homes that can be moved from one place to another. Experts predict that by 2025, the use of shipping containers as homes will see a global compound growth rate of 6.5%.

Some of the noteworthy environmental benefits of using shipping containers as modular buildings include reduced carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, cleaning up landfill space, and the reuse of waste material. Whereas from an architectural point of view, these buildings require less maintenance, and have low structural cost, short construction time, high strength and a high potential for difficult sites.

Moreover, using shipping containers not only provides a sustainable solution, but also presents an economical and effective housing solution for those who are in desperate need of a home. As shipping containers are affordable and don’t take a large amount of resources, they can be easily turned into shipping container communities for the homeless. Several container buildings use hybrid construction by mixing traditional construction with containers. For example, The Mill Junction, which provides student apartments in Johannesburg, South Africa, places shipping containers on top of old grain silos. On the other hand, in Taiwan, a Starbucks coffee shop is completely made up of containers and consists of 29 white shipping containers.

Similarly, in the UK a temporary housing development has been constructed in west London using shipping containers. Aimed to provide shelter to homeless people, this development consists of 290 homes and was built in a short span of 24 weeks. Seeing the urgent need for housing, this task was undertaken by QED Company. The company ensured that all the accommodation units have their own front door, kitchen and bathroom and are equipped with all safety and security features, which are often overlooked by many emergency accommodation providers.

Despite their several economic and environmental benefits, accommodations made up of shipping containers also possess some challenges. Thus, it is important for builders to be aware of these challenges and have the basic prerequisites to overcome them. As shipping containers are made up of corrugated metal sheathing, extremely high and low temperatures possess a serious threat to the living conditions of these containers. While the containers can freeze in cold weathers, they are also likely to heat up in a hot and humid climate. This can result in an uncomfortable living space. Hence it is important that homes made up of shipping containers are properly insulated either from the inside or outside. Additionally, special care must be taken for all HVAC connections, which must be made durable to last in extreme winter and summer seasons.

While turning shipping containers into a modular building can be a sustainable solution, knowing how to use these containers optimally and correctly will help in the reduction of time, resources and money spent. The increase in the use of containers for building solutions will also help in the preservation of the environment to a greater extent.

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