When Peggy Whitlow Ratcliffe founded Live Thrive, she wasn’t setting out to start a movement—she just needed a place to dispose of old pesticides from her father’s garden. But when she discovered there were no municipal solutions for hazardous waste disposal in Atlanta, she realized she wasn’t alone.
“That first event in 2010, I thought would be the end of the conversation,” she said. “Instead, a thousand people showed up.”
What started as pop-up hazardous waste collection events quickly grew into something much bigger. Live Thrive launched the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) in Atlanta, a permanent facility designed to give residents a responsible way to dispose of hazardous and hard-to-recycle materials, from paint to electronics. But even with the success of the original location, demand remained high.
With the support of DeKalb County officials and environmental advocates, Whitlow Ratcliffe and her team opened CHaRM DeKalb in June 2023. The facility, already drawing thousands of visitors, provides an accessible and transparent recycling option in a region where trust in recycling programs is often low.
“People come here because they don’t believe their recycling is actually getting processed,” Whitlow Ratcliffe said. “Transparency is everything. If we take something, we make sure it has a home.”
CHaRM DeKalb doesn’t just accept materials, either. It educates the greater community about sustainable habits, both big and small. Program Manager Emma Dufresne emphasizes that seeing the process firsthand can be transformative.
“People want to do the right thing, but they need to know why it matters,” Dufresne said. “When they watch something like Styrofoam get densified into a reusable material, it clicks.”
Education is at the heart of CHaRM’s mission. The center hosts school field trips, community tours, and corporate volunteer days to engage people of all ages. Events like Kids Day introduce children to sustainability in a hands-on way, while the Corporate Challenge encourages businesses to step up their recycling efforts.
Live Thrive also reminds residents that recycling isn’t just about the environment—it’s about the economy, too. Georgia ranks second in the nation for remanufacturing recycled materials, supporting over 120 businesses that depend on sustainable waste streams.
“When we explain how recycling supports Georgia’s economy—it changes the conversation,” Whitlow Ratcliffe said.
Ready to make a difference in your community? Visit ChaRM DeKalb to learn how to recycle properly and join a collective working toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.
“People want to do the right thing, but they need to know why it matters,” Program Manager Emma Dufresne said. “When they watch something like Styrofoam get densified into a reusable material, it clicks.”