Containers

[mitiempo]

Ever wonder why there are containers floating in the world's oceans waiting to be hit by a sailboat - or anybody else for that matter?

[lydanynom]

Vero Marine - Containers overboard

[remetau]

I worry more about those containers than ever running into pirates.

[rockDAWG]

At any given time, between 5 million and 6 million boxes are in transit. The TT Club calculates that the total number lost over the side is probably less than 2,000 per year. This means that less than 0.005% of the containers shipped each year end afloat in the ocean.

2000 loss a year is still a lot to dump into our seas. Why don't they stack them properly.

[Boasun]

The containers themselves are designed to sink. The products inside them may be keeping them afloat. All of those items wrapped with bubble wrap, buried in those syafoam(sp?) peanuts. Isn't packing wonderful!?
One way to reduce all of this is to BUY Local products... As if you can anymore.

[knothead]

Originally Posted by Boasun

The containers themselves are designed to sink. The products inside them may be keeping them afloat. All of those items wrapped with bubble wrap, buried in those syafoam(sp?) peanuts. Isn't packing wonderful!?
One way to reduce all of this is to BUY Local products... As if you can anymore.

Those Styrofoam peanuts are not biodegradable. They are difficult to recycle and toxic.
They don't do a damn thing that real peanuts (shells) and some crumpled or shredded newspaper won't do. And real peanut shells and crumpled up newspaper will absorb water and sink in pretty short order.

The best thing to do with Styrofoam peanuts would be to discontinuing their use completely, but at the very least, they should be returned to the original sender, (at their cost) to be reused as many times as possible.

I doubt that would set back human progress much. Or infringe on anyone's rights to a very large degree.

Styrofoam peanuts are a waste of perfectly good fossil fuel and a good example of how we need to reevaluate our wanton misuse of this as well as other finite resources.

[Boatsmith]

Most styrofoam peanuts are now made of corn starch. I learned this because I opened a box several years ago and the peanuts expelled from within. My 4 and 7 month old Golden Retriever pups just started gobbling them up. A trip to the vet and some dog barfing later and all we got was some off white dog puke and a vet bill.

[lydanynom]

Originally Posted by Boatsmith

Most styrofoam peanuts are now made of corn starch. I learned this because I opened a box several years ago and the peanuts expelled from within. My 4 and 7 month old Golden Retriever pups just started gobbling them up. A trip to the vet and some dog barfing later and all we got was some off white dog puke and a vet bill.

That strikes me as some sloppy usage of "most". Can you cite any sources to support that claim?

[knothead]

Originally Posted by lydanynom

That strikes me as some sloppy usage of "most". Can you cite any sources to support that claim?

Sloppy? How about simply improper. If the "Peanuts" are made from cornstarch, they would be called "cornstarch peanuts" not Styrofoam peanuts.

[ffiill]

A few years ago a container ship lost a considerable number of containers over the side in the English chanel and they came ashore in a storm on the south coast of England!
Until the Police and customs got it sorted there were Japanese motor bikes to be had;chain saws plus numerous other things-recall they had to surround beach with a security cordon as people travelled from miles away to see what they could get.
Sad thing was that whilst this was technically theft most of the containers had be broken apart by the storm and things like the motor bikes were ultimately right offs.
Down side was that there were quite a few containers containing all the wordly possessions of people moving countries.