[Fishrrman]

“Environmental” fee probably means “Pay us for having to put up with the damned things” fee. In every port city in the country there are tens of thousands of empty shipping containers piling up. It makes no sense from a cost-effectiveness standpoint to return empty containers, and the U.S. doesn’t export enough to fill up more than a fraction of them.

Yes, they are stacked up like mountains in industrial Jersey, I hear.

Honestly folks, $35 per container ain't much from the shipper's perspective and it would probably cost 'way more than $35 to re-route the to Mexico and have to pay the extra fuel/transport/handling costs.

Considering the nuisance the empty containers create, the fee would be better designated as a handling or disposal fee.

I remember reading something about plans to recycle them as housing material

I've got a better idea. There are thousands of them, right?
And they stack up like legos, right?

Well, why not haul them ALL down to the borderand stack 'em up? Put a smooth finish on the Mexican side so they can't climb over, and voila! Instant border barrier, two or three containers high!

- John

[calcowgirl]

Affordable housing. ;-)

[Non-Sequitur]

Well, why not haul them ALL down to the borderand stack 'em up? Put a smooth finish on the Mexican side so they can't climb over, and voila! Instant border barrier, two or three containers high!

That would make too much sense.

[1rudeboy]

Honestly folks, $35 per container ain't much from the shipper's perspective . . . .

Then why not make the fee 0%?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Well, why not haul them ALL down to the borderand stack 'em up? Put a smooth finish on the Mexican side so they can't climb over, and voila! Instant border barrier, two or three containers high!

Excellent idea! Better fill them up with concrete. Wouldn't do much good if you could blow torch your own door in the side.