Live Thrive | Live Thrive Atlanta is an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization working since 2010 to create a community that cares about a healthy and sustainable environment.

Live Thrive's Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials

The Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) facilities are a premier program of the nonprofit, Live Thrive. Live Thrive’s CHaRM locations are Atlanta’s only permanent facilities where residents and businesses can drop off household hazardous waste and other materials not accepted at the curb. Live Thrive’s goal is to divert materials from Atlanta’s water systems and landfills. The organization works with processors and nonprofit partners to ensure materials collected are properly reused, recycled, and reengineered. Both CHaRM locations also accept sorted single-stream items for those who do not have access. All operations expenses for the CHaRM facilities are paid from grants, sponsorships, donations and recycling fees.

Two convenient locations in Atlanta and Decatur, open by appointment only:

CHaRM Atlanta: Tuesdays, Thursdays 9am-2pm and Saturdays 8am-2pm

CHaRM DeKalb: Wednesdays 9am-2pm and Saturdays 8am-2pm

Appointments are required to help track statistics for funding purposes.

Event Calendar + Announcements

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items charm accepts

Live Thrive's Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials

The Centers for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) facility is a premier program of the nonprofit, Live Thrive. With two permanent drop-off facilities that aim to improve our environmental health by encouraging reuse and diverting thousands of pounds of household hazardous waste and other hard-to-recycle items from Metro-Atlanta landfills and water systems. Both CHaRM locations also accept sorted single-stream items for those who do not have access. All operations expenses for the CHaRM facilities are paid from grants, sponsorships, donations and recycling fees.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

warning icon We only accept items for shredding during our Shredding Events.

Upcoming 2026 Shredding Events @ CHaRM DeKalb (ONLY):

November 7 @ CHaRM DeKalb–Limit 1 Banker’s Box per person*

warning icon Appointments are still required to drop off and the cost will be the same, $.50 per pound for residents and $1 per pound for businesses.

7 Million Pounds of Recycled Materials in 2024!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHARM

In Georgia, recycling industries add over 3 billion dollars in value to the materials that they process, employing over 23,000 Georgians. Nationally, achieving a recycling rate of 75 percent would create and sustain nearly 1.5 million by 2030.

– Blue Green Alliance

HDPE (plastic #2) is recycled into a variety of new products, including rope, lumber, plastic furniture and interestingly, recycling and trash containers!

What Happens to your Waste?

About Live Thrive

Live Thrive is an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization working since 2010 to create a community that cares about a healthy and sustainable environment. We started as a blog sharing sustainable efforts of individuals, communities and local businesses large and small.

To fulfill our mission, Live Thrive organized the city of Atlanta’s first household hazardous waste collection in September 2010. Attendance was well over 1000+, diverting more than 75,000 pounds of waste from our water system and landfills. Over the next four years, Live Thrive organized nine additional events. Through these events, we realized the need for a permanent drop-off facility for these hard-to-recycle materials, and CHaRM was created.

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Educational Programs

How do we teach our children to conserve and preserve? Simple answer—start early and lead by example! Live Thrive is working to bring environmental education to all levels through the CHaRM facility.

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Latest News

Next Volunteer Orientation: Nov 7

Oct 23, 2026

All volunteers MUST complete a Volunteer Orientation session before volunteering. This session will allow you to volunteer at both locations. For more information, click here.