I don't see the problem with the current implementation of looting. Having a container highlighted even if potentially empty until you actually check it is the most sane system I can think of for a CRPG.
Now the real issue might be that container quality doesn't reflect content quality. This was a big issue with release Diablo 3 where the best farming method was to destroy wooden crates. With a proper loot pool, you can actually tell visually if something is worth your time just like you wouldn't dumpster dive IRL to find gold.
The problem isn't the containers that gets highlighted, it's all the ones that doesn't get highlited for some random reason that is the issue.
