Green Shipping Container
Team Members Heading link
- Kelsey Grossart
- Taylor Huynh
- Mark Prado
- Nicole Xiong
Advisor: Michael Brown, PhD, and Quintin Williams, PhD
Sponsor: Qmulus
Project Description Heading link
The goal of this project was to work with Qmulus, which is a “green” startup company, to design its shipping materials that could withstand the normal forces that a container undergoes while in transit for shipping. The team wanted to maximize ruggedness, recyclability, and reusability while prioritizing the elimination of single use plastics and styrofoam. The approach to the problem was devising a means to properly protect the electronic device that was being shipped while maintaining recyclability. The main problem the container would face was the forces that could destroy internal components, misshapen, and/or break external components. The team applied their collective research and knowledge of shipping practices in order to devise a container which could satisfy all the desired requirements. Some of the potential situations considered while designing the container was to withstand being tossed into a vehicle, or dropped onto the ground upon reaching the receivers’ home or business. Many concepts were formulated, but ultimately one design including only cardboard and 100% recyclable tape prevailed above the rest. Overall, this gives hope of a future with 100% recycled shipping and elimination of single use plastics.
See supporting documentation in the team’s Box drive.