Recycling is a way of life in western Washington, but do you wonder if you're truly making a difference? A few cans and bottles here and there can't make that big a dent, can it? It's easy to get cynical about such things. Upon closer inspection, it turns out snipping plastic six-pack yokes won't do much to save dolphins or ducks or whatever you were told as a kid. (The yokes photo-degrade in less than a month.) But it is true, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, that Americans recycle nearly half the paper products they use, and that saves hundreds of millions of trees and hundreds of billions of gallons of fresh water each year. We recycle tens of millions of used cars per year, sparing billions of tons of coal, iron ore and limestone. By recycling five billion pounds of PET plastic annually, we avoid tens of trillions of BTUs of energy consumption. And if you were to recycle only half the paper you use in a year, you'd keep over a ton of carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere from your household alone.

The trick to sustainability is knowing what works and what doesn't. That's where the South Sound Sustainability Expo comes in. A team of Pierce County higher-educational institutions first organized this event in 2006. Four years later, the city of Tacoma formed an Office of Environmental Policy and Sustainability, which partnered with area colleges. The expo is now held in the Tacoma Convention Center, where it's grown to include over 90 companies and nonprofits. Among vendors present at this year's event are American Red Cross, Citizens for a Healthy Bay, Metro Parks Tacoma, Nisqually Land Trust and Tacoma Farmers Market, which hosts a Kids' Corner with a functioning mini-market. Much of the expo's financial support comes from Goodwill, Pierce County, Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union and Tacoma Public Utilities.

For the first time, Goodwill has organized a Book-Movie-Music Swap for the event, in which unwanted entertainment media may be exchanged for fresh swag or simply donated. Accepted formats include comic books, VHS tapes, and even vinyl records. All items must be labelled, original (non-copied), family-friendly and in good condition. You can also bring bags, shirts or other fabric items to be screen-printed, absolutely free, with the attractive Sustainability Expo logo: a tree in full bloom. Seems appropriate, doesn't it?

So no, a dolphin won't swim up and thank you personally for attending the expo, nor for all the fish. But did you know a single leaky faucet can waste up to 20 gallons of water per day? Such knowledge is power, for you and Flipper alike.

SOUTH SOUND SUSTAINABILITY EXPO, 10 a.m. Saturday, March 7, Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma, free, SouthSoundSustainabilityExpo.org