Live Thrive knows how to celebrate Earth Day and strives to create more of an impact with the annual event each year. Marking the day of the environment on Saturday, April 20 this year, CHaRM (Center for Hard to Recycle Materials), which is a program of the Atlanta-based nonprofit, will host a public Kids Day and close out its annual CHaRM Corporate Challenge. 

When the official Earth Day arrives on April 22, hundreds of children and adults will have been part of these efforts to divert tons of materials from landfills and encourage a more sustainable lifestyle.

Live Thrive executive director and founder Peggy Whitlow Ratcliffe sees both initiatives as critical to accelerating perceptions of the benefits of recycling, which works better when more people do it.

“There is a concern that individual recycling is not enough to make a difference, which can lead people to skip it,” she said. “But the figures we achieve through collaboration are astounding, and they can encourage more participation among the apathetic or despairing.” 

A case in point is the CHaRM Corporate Challenge, which coincides with Earth Month and allows local corporations and companies to give their employees the opportunity to drop off recycling at CHaRM. In 2021, the initiative collected 100,000 pounds; in 2022, collection increased to 120,000 pounds; and in 2023, it reached 140,000 pounds of waste materials diverted from landfills and back into the circular economy. That is just a fraction of the 5.7 million pounds of materials CHaRM recycled/reused in 2023 alone.

While the Corporate Challenge seeks to increase action among adults, Kids Day puts the focus on making environmental awareness fun and instilling lifelong care for the planet. The public event brings together local environmental groups, recycling partners and corporate partners to provide interactive, educational and eco-friendly activities for children. 

“We know that the best way to engage children and develop their concern for the environment is to make it entertaining,” said Ratcliffe. “So we put fun at the forefront while teaching youth about the benefits of recycling and being good stewards of the environment, aiming to create habits that will last a lifetime.” 

CHaRM Corporate Challenge

For the fourth year, Live Thrive’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) hosts the CHaRM Corporate Challenge, an initiative encouraging Atlanta-based corporations to task their employees with a recycling competition. The purpose of the initiative is to create a collaborative effort to sustainably manage materials and generate a healthier environment and water system in metro Atlanta.

Companies can register on the Live Thrive website, and throughout the challenge, each drop-off will be weighed and recorded, so the total number of pounds diverted can be determined. Current 2024 Corporate Challenge participants include:  Alston & Bird, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Cox Enterprises Inc., Delta Air Lines, EY, Floor & Decor, Interface, Monarch Private Capital, Novelis, Old Castle Infrastructure, PRAXIS3 architecture + multidisciplinary design, Southern Company Gas and The Home Depot Foundation.

Kids Day

Taking place on the site of CHaRM’s soon-to-open DeKalb location (1225 Columbia Drive, Decatur GA 30032) Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon, Kids Day welcomes children and families to enjoy interactive booths, hands-on activities, the announcement of winners of the children’s T-Shirt Design Contest and Plastic Bottle Collection Contest, concessions and much more. Kids Day is free to attend! 

Leading up to Kids Day, CHaRM is working with local schools to get students involved in contests and educational opportunities.

The Plastic Bottle Collection Contest for schools in metro Atlanta encourages individual classes or entire schools to collect plastic bottles for a two-week period. The elementary/middle school class with the highest weight collected will be awarded a Captain Planet Foundation Learning Garden sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED for their school. Additional cash prizes will be awarded to STEM, STEAM and environmental groups. Grades K-12 are eligible. The 2023 Plastic Bottle Collection Contest winning school was the St. Timothy School.

 In anticipation of Kids Day, CHaRM is also holding its annual T-Shirt Design Contest, which accepts entries from elementary, middle school and high school students. For 2024, participants are encouraged to create designs exploring topics related to recycling, reuse, environmental awareness, composting and trash to treasure. The winning designs – one from each scholastic level – will be printed on shirts for the students’ classes, and winners will be announced at Kids Day. Submission instructions are available at https://livethrive.org/kids-day/.