It's a simple metal box that moves nearly all of our goods around the world. Designed for uniformity and interchangeability, the shipping container has reshaped global trade and our lives in the nearly 70 years since its creation. But listener Paul wants to know if these heavy steel containers could be made with lighter materials to cut down on the fuel needed to transport them, especially when they're empty. Could we make shipping containers a more efficient process and reduce the shipping industry’s sizable greenhouse gas emissions? Host Anand Jagatia travels to Europe's largest port in Rotterdam looking for answers. Speaking to environmental scientists and industry insiders along the way, he takes a look at how the humble container might be modified to once again remake global shipping, from materials, to designs, to how it’s shipped. And thinking outside the box, we explore which innovations might benefit the whole system – from machine learning to new, carbon-free energy sources. For an industry that’s not always quick to change, we speak with the changemakers trying to disrupt the way 90% of the stuff we buy moves, in hope of a greener future. Featuring: Maarten van Oosten - Port of Rotterdam Authority Marc Levinson - historian, economist and author Greg Keoleian - School for Environmental Sustainability and Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan Hans Broekhuis - Holland Container Innovations Trine Nielsen, Flexport Tristan Smith - University College London Elianne Wieles – Deep Sea Carriers, Port of Rotterdam Presenter: Anand Jagatia Producer: Sam Baker Editor: Cathy Edwards Production Coordinator: Ishmael Soriano Studio Manager: Steve Greenwood (Photo: Port of Rotterdam, Maasvlakte Deep Sea Carrier Area. Credit: Sam Baker, BBC)
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I was stuck in a traffic jam, traveling home from the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Festival, and I notice all these lorries sitting in front of me, and on the back of the lorries they had huge, big metal containers, the containers that you see everywhere.
I noticed that the empty weight was often between two and a half and four and a half thousand kilograms.
And I got thinking, that's an awful lot of dead weight to drag around the country.
You're listening to Crowd Science from the BBC World Service.
Hi, I'm Anand Jagatiya, and in this episode, we're trying to get to the bottom of a mystery from listener Paul.
Now, mysteries are actually what Paul specialises in.
He's a crime writer.
But for this one, he's going to need some outside help.
And I asked my wife, do you think there's a way that they could improve upon the containers to make them lighter?
She had no idea.
I had no idea.
And eventually I thought, well, I know who might have an idea.
And that's when I email crowd signs.
So you were out and about and you saw on the back of a truck how heavy these empty containers actually are?
That's right.
And I was quite shocked.