Old Trucks, Old Sheds

They are all so familiar; they have simply become part of the landscape. All around New England we see old buildings and farm equipment sitting unused and largely forgotten. Some have been there for years or even decades. But what looks like junk up close may actually represent a largely untapped supply of building materials for new homes, and metals that could be recovered for new uses.

The occasional old tractor sitting next to a farm stand as a decoration may be picturesque, but it also has real untapped monetary value. Old barns deserve particular attention and often contain high-quality materials that are difficult to reproduce today. Those massive hand-hewn timbers, old-growth lumber, hardwood flooring, doors, windows, and even hardware can have value far beyond their scrap value. 

Environmentalists are always urging us to follow the R’s - repair, reuse, repurpose, and recycle whenever possible. Well, that beat up old vehicle contains recoverable steel, aluminum, copper, and maybe even reuseable parts. That aging farm outbuilding may contain massive structural timbers, flooring, doors, windows, hardware, and other materials that could be and should be recovered and recycled.

We need to visualize these recoverable materials as part of a reinvigorated, local material supply chain. It would be reinvigorated because for many years there were “junk yards” in many small towns which served that purpose. But as our manufacturing globalized and our modern throwaway society of “ultra-fast consumer goods” took over, these options dwindled.

The environmental benefits are clear. Reusing an existing truck component, piece of machinery, beam, door, or length of lumber can reduce the need to manufacture a replacement. That saves materials and energy costs.  When old structures are carefully deconstructed rather than simply demolished, significant quantities of usable material can be recovered. Recycled metals can put aluminum and copper back into productive use rather than being shipped off to a landfill in another state.

So, rather than viewing old equipment and buildings simply as waste, greater Newburyport builders, mechanics, and towing companies should be developing ways to identify, collect, and recycle them … for profit !!  For example, we already have two nearby businesses that have continued to do this work over the years in Salisbury and South Hampton, NH. (http://www.noreast1.com/ and https://www.salisburysalvage.com/).  More local businesses might also be developed around agricultural salvage, equipment parts harvesting, barn deconstruction, used-building-material sales, metal recycling, transportation, and online marketplaces.

Technology now exists that could make this market more efficient. A new regional start-up could photograph and catalog on-line old trucks, barns, and other in-place structures with the owner's permission. Information about location, condition, age, materials, and potentially reusable components could be entered into an online marketplace or database.

Such a system would also give property owners a reason to participate. Many owners leave old equipment where it is because the cost and inconvenience of removal exceeds its perceived value. A barn that would otherwise require an expensive demolition could instead become a source of reusable lumber and architectural materials.

The challenge is not necessarily a lack of material. It is a lack of a process connecting that material with people who can use it. It doesn’t have to be too complicated. It could start with a regional pilot program, a meeting of potentially interested parties, like an ADU builder with deconstruction skills and a local lumber yard. Owners could provide access to unused assets; local assessors and recovery businesses identify their value; specialized crews remove and transport them while recyclers process remaining materials and consumers purchase the recovered resources.

Those old trucks in the field and old sheds behind the barn may look like the end of something but they may not be waste after all. With the right supply chain, they may become the beginning of something: an overlooked inventory of resources waiting for a supply chain to bring them back into the economy.

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This educational column was originally published by The Daily News of Newburyport on October 30, 2026.