Pallets are made with hardwood like oak, and often used only once, to ship goods from China to the USA. You can use them as firewood, but be careful of the nails. They're also nice for storing firewood off the ground, and for building compost bins.

Around here free pallets don't last very long, but more are always coming. Here are some sources:

• Henery's Hardware sets them out by the entrance. They keep many pallets for reuse around their site, but only the ones stacked in the parking lot are free for the taking.
• Printery in Uptown puts out pallets in the alley. Some of these are unusual, odd sizes and MDF tops.
• Cenex keeps a lot of pallets on site, but the free ones are stacked out back.