Shipping container homes are all the rage right now across America, including Houston and Dallas. Many Millennials, and Gen Z in particular, are waving goodbye to the traditional real estate market and opting for the so-called tiny homes.
This is great news for the planet because shipping container homes are far more environmentally friendly than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. That’s why we’ll be looking at all the different ways shipping container homes help save the planet in this article.
1. Recycling Materials
It’s no secret that recycling is on everyone’s mind right now. We mentioned Gen Z and millennials as being the biggest drivers of the shipping container home trend, but it’s not a mystery why. They’re more worried about the environment and global warming than any other generation.
Shipping container homes are the ultimate in recycling unwanted materials. While the metal from the container could be recycled for other purposes, transforming them into homes reuses almost all of the container with minimal energy used for the changes.
These containers have often already been in use for many years before they’re renovated into a homes. This makes them one of the most sustainable home building materials around!
2. Fewer Materials
Building a home uses a lot of materials. Concrete, bricks, metal, wood, plastics, and more.
These materials all come with their cost to the environment. In particular, foam insulation is a leading contributor to chlorofluorocarbons. These are non-toxic chemicals to humans, but they’re responsible for breaking down the ozone layer.
Of course, you’ll need to ensure you use responsible materials for a truly sustainable shipping container home. But whatever material you use, you’ll be using far less of it, reducing your impact on the environment considerably.
3. Less Energy Used
It also takes a lot of energy to build a house.
For example, cement manufacture accounts for around 5% of our annual greenhouse gas emissions. This figure is just one aspect of the construction industry. Besides energy, there are also transportation emissions and other types of pollutions to consider.
There is also the long-term energy costs when comparing a shipping container home against a traditional house. It takes a lot of energy to heat a tradition home, leaving owners with a large CO2 footprint. Whereas, shipping container home’s come in more compact sizes, taking far less energy to heat or cool.
4. Less Space Needed
The small size of shipping container homes has other benefits for the environment too! There is an acute shortage of housing in America. There is plenty of space to build on, but building on it means eating into beautiful green spaces.
By opting for a small home, you’re choosing to leave more green space for everyone to enjoy.
5. Reduces Materialism
Anyone who’s moved around a few times can tell you, no matter the size of the home, you’ll always fill it up! We’re all guilty of this, hoarding things we don’t really need because we have space to. But living in a shipping container home means leading a minimalist lifestyle because you won’t have the room to collect things.
This is great news because all of this junk tends to be bad for the planet. Fast-fashion clothes items, plastic packed snacks, and other bits you never needed in the first place can all be recycled.
Looking for Shipping Container Homes in Texas?
Shipping container homes are great news for the planet. They use recycled materials, less energy, and less space. If you’d like to join the craze, get in touch for a quote.
