Some ski resorts are turning into junkyards — and snowboarders couldn't be happier.

Satellite dishes, propane tanks, empty oil drums and even a Chevy Impala are popping up interrain parksacross the country. It's a new form of recycling and is adding back some edge to what has become a mainstream sport.

Snowboardingstarted as a rebellious activity. Riding rails, pipes and picnic benches was a way to break out of the norm. Today, those features have become standard. So to add some uniqueness and push the sport to a new level, resorts have turned to rummaging through junk piles. The recycled objects are placed on the slopes as challenges for snowboarding jumps, slides and other maneuvers.>>> Check the Ski Report

"We've had the same stuff going on for years and years. Now they are just trying to get crazy with it," said Lakota Sage, a 21-year-old professional snowboarder at Colorado's Echo Mountain.

Sage is out on the mountain almost daily and loves the new features, including a 1960s-era trail-grooming machine called a snowcat. It was found in the woods on the resort with bullet holes from locals who used it for target practice and now sits by a railing on the course.

"It helps push the athletes a little more because it's more intimidating. If you do fall off the railing, you're going to nail the snowcat," he said.

This winter, boarders at Sol Vista Basin at Granby Ranch in Colorado will find a six-foot tall satellite dish poached from a stranger taking it to the dump. Other mountains have taken old chairlift towers, tractor tires, snowmaking pipes, logs and concrete barriers and given them a second life on the mountain. There's a fiberglass horse at Colorado's Winter Park, and California's Northstar has incorporated an old gondola cabin in its terrain park.

"It feels pretty unique to hit something that I normally ride up in," said Mike Schipani, manager of Northstar's terrain park.

The new effort also keeps junk out of the landfill and saves ski resorts some cash. Schipani said he spends about $1,800 for each 20-foot-long piece of steel he puts on the mountain.

Many amateur boarders are creating videos in hopes of pushing themselves into a professional career. The used cars, satellite dishes and other objects help them stand out.