Fridley residents turned out by the hundreds Saturday to get rid of unwanted junk. Everything from batteries to refrigerators, circuit boards to snowblowers were accepted free of charge at the city's public works yard, where dozens of volunteers from local service organizations unloaded, sorted and hauled away the old stuff.

Much of it will find new life in new products. Batteries will be separated into their metal and chemical components and then remanufactured. The glass from flourescent lamps gets added into concrete products. And Fridley bike wheels will spin again—Mr. Michael Recycles Bicycles of St. Paul rebuilt and gave away 532 bikes last year to the disadvantaged.

This is the sixteenth year Fridley has offered the recycling dropoff program to residents, according to Rachel Harris, planning manager and head of the city's recycling program.

If you missed out on getting that old freezer out of the basement, you'll have another opportunity this spring, as the program is offered twice per year.