Can Our Planet Afford to Throw Away Old Machinery?

In this episode of What if Instead?, Tom Christenson, CEO of TBAuctions, begins with a stark image: "Imagine a world drowning in discarded machines—a nightmare for the planet!"

Joined by hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford, he questions the sustainability of discarding valuable industrial, farm, and medical equipment.

As the conversation deepens, he highlights the stark contrast between the growing mountains of waste and the untapped potential of auction platforms to mitigate this trend.

The opportunity is massive, Christenson explains:

When I say our market opportunity in Europe, I've often said that about 250 billion euros of assets are sold, used business assets are sold every year. That's really a floor, it's not a ceiling. That floor is representative of just the assets that are currently traded versus all the other assets. It's so much easier to just throw it out into the trash.

We can create a new model for how we handle heavy machinery, to give it a second life. “And as we look at taking this model, we've been able to connect local brands and a global economy .… If we create a simple, easy to use flywheel effect, folks will end up being able to put those assets to use.”

Christenson believes that doing this can move away from a one-life paradigm for the equipment we build.

"Together, let’s write a new chapter where we no longer discard our potential but instead, regenerate, repurpose, and revive."

Let’s forge a resilient future now.