It's been said that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Nowhere is that more true than in an online community called Freecycle. It started off as a way to keep junk out of landfills and has grown into a community of people helping people, where the phrase "what goes around comes around" isn't just cliché.

This is where the majority of Alaska's unwanted junk ends up -- The Anchorage dump alone takes in about 1,100 tons every day. But what do you do when you have something that can't go to the landfill or is too nice to be trashed?

Kristine Burton said, "It's not all trash or junk, it's, it's good usable things."

Or what if you're on the other end and need something you know is probably laying in this landscape of garbage? Well, if you're one of the nearly 7,000 Alaskans in on the secret, you go to Freecycle.

John Moraco said, "It's pretty unbelievable some of the neat stuff you come across."

Here's how it works -- you sign up for Freecycle in your community. Then you post messages to the group, either offering something you don't want or asking for something you need. There's just a few simple rules. The first time you post you have to give something away, and everything has to be free. If you see something you want, you just respond and arrange a pick-up time.

There really is no limit to what you can get, which is why Robyn Harris uses it to find props for plays at Valley Performing Arts.

Harris said, "We have a really minimal budget, and so it's really nice to be able to find things that people would otherwise just have sitting around their house."

From Scarvesto wood paneling for set pieces to metal tankards, Harris even found a complete kitchen setup right out of the 1960s.

Harris said, "It's this tiny little -- I mean, the sink was this big and there's a little refrigerator that you couldn't stand a bottle of champaign up in, and a stove all in one unit."

Harris's favorite Freecyle find has nothing to do with theater but rather high school. A few months ago someone was giving away papers from French class -- papers that Harris once got from her favorite teacher, who died of brain cancer more than a decade ago.

Harris said, "This is her handwriting. I recognize it just like I recognize my mother's. So this is a special thing for me."

It's the finds like this that keep bringing more and more people into the Freecycle world. Just ask John Moraco, who got a new best friend from the list.
Moraco said, "She comes running out and says, 'You won a frog,' and I'm like, 'A frog?' I said, 'A real frog?'"

Sure enough, it was an African clawed frog that now lives a comfortable existence keeping Moraco and his wife entertained by singing his songs.

Moraco said, "I guess hoping a girlfriend will show up some day."

In the meantime, Moraco is keeping an eye on his e-mail, hoping what he wants will also show up some day.

Moraco said, "Who knows, maybe we'll get him a girlfriend from Freecycle."

If you want to join the Freecycle community, you just have to go to Freecycle.org and join up with the group closest to where you live.