Sustainability Expo wants your busted appliances and broken jewelry
Is your vacuum not sucking? Is your toaster giving you cold buns?
Bring them to Saturday’s South Sound Sustainability Expo at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center.
Sustainability — the philosophy of balancing reduced consumption with increased conservation — is the theme of the 12th annual free event.
New this year is a fix-it fair hosted by the Tacoma Tool Library and Zero Waste Washington. The public can bring jewelry, clothing, appliances, electronics, and other small items in need of repair. Volunteer fixers will get them working again for free if they’re repairable.
Some of the fixers are retired engineers. Others are talented at repairing jewelry, says Abi Vanover, a sustainability specialist with Tacoma’s office of environmental policy and sustainability.
“They are donating their time and talent to do this work,” she said. “There’s a couple of women who are really good with their sewing machines.”
No, you can’t wheel in your clothes dryer or refrigerator, Vanover said. But you can bring small appliances and anything else that can be hand-carried. At other fix-it fairs there have been, “a surprising amount of vacuums,” she said.
“A lot of them will talk you through what they are doing,” Vanover said of the fixers. “They are eager to share their knowledge.”
The expo also features workshops on zero waste communities and sustainability-based mindfulness.
Expo-goers can bring a T-shirt, cloth shopping bag, or other fabric items to screen print. Kids will be entertained by an arts and crafts section.
More than 100 local businesses and organizations with a sustainability theme will be on hand with demos, samples and information.
The day ends with a green infrastructure walk around downtown Tacoma which will visit rain gardens and bioswales.
“They actually do a lot of important work to catch rain water and treat it before it runs into the sound,” Vanover said. The walk ends at 7 Seas Brewing for a post-expo party.
South Sound Sustainability Expo
When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Greater Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Commerce Street.
Admission: Free
Information: 253-591-5172, southsoundsustainabilityexpo.org/
