🏭CDM AMS-III.F.: Avoidance of Methane Emissions Through Composting

Introduction

AMS-III.F serves as a comprehensive methodology aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, specifically targeting the avoidance of methane release through controlled aerobic treatment, primarily via composting. This approach addresses the pressing global concerns of methane emissions from various organic waste sources and underscores the importance of sustainable waste management practices in combating climate change.

Key Objectives and Scope

This methodology centers on:

Emission Avoidance: Preventing methane emissions that would otherwise occur from the anaerobic decay of biomass, organic matter in solid waste disposal sites (SWDS), animal waste management systems (AWMS), and wastewater treatment systems (WWTS).

Project Applicability: Applicable to composting activities involving municipal solid waste, biomass waste from agricultural/agro-industrial activities, including manure. Additionally, it encompasses the construction, expansion, and optimized utilization of treatment facilities.

Criteria for implementation: Sets a limit of 60 kt CO2 equivalent annually for emission reduction projects, emphasizes special efforts for capacity utilization, adherence to laws and regulations, and exclusion from other parallel CDM projects.

Aspects of Methodology

AMS-III.F outlines specific steps and considerations:

Co-composting Practices: Encourages the utilization of wastewater in co-composting scenarios to enhance biological treatment, such as composting empty fruit bunches (EFB) with palm oil mill effluent (POME).

Baseline Establishment: Requires a clear understanding of baseline methane emissions from waste disposal sites and accounting for baseline emissions in co-composting scenarios.

Material and Waste Handling: Focuses on proper material blending for enhanced composting efficiency while monitoring quantities contributing to emission reduction calculations. Prior verification of identified landfill/stockpile capacity or regional waste disposal practices before diverting waste.

Geographical Boundary Definition: Demands defining the sourcing or transportation region for waste, considering transportation distance and final product usage.

Compost Management: Emphasizes proper soil application or controlled thermal/mechanical treatment to prevent methane emissions. Accounts for emissions if compost is stored anaerobically or sent to landfills.

Significance and Environmental Impact

AMS-III.F's emphasis on controlled aerobic treatment of organic waste, notably through composting, signifies a pivotal step towards curbing methane emissions. By outlining stringent criteria for waste handling, regional considerations, and proper treatment methodologies, this policy contributes significantly to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and advancing sustainable waste management practices on a global scale.

Policy Workflow

Policy Guide

This policy is published to Hedera network and can either be imported via Github (.policy file) or IPFS timestamp.

Available Roles

Project Participant - The project participant is responsible for executing the emission reduction project. The project participant must adhere to the requirements outlined by the CDM and provide evidence of the emission reductions achieved. Upon successful verification, the project participant receives certified emission reduction (CER) tokens as an incentive for their emission reductions.
Verification and Validation Body (VVB) - The VVB plays a critical role in independently verifying and validating the project data submitted by the project participant. They thoroughly assess the project's emission reduction potential, methodologies, and adherence to the policy guidelines. Based on their evaluation, the VVB either approves or rejects the project for registration.
Registry (UNFCCC) - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) serves as the registry for the CDM. They oversee the multiple workflow steps involved in the project's approval, including the verification and validation process by the VVB. The UNFCCC's approval is necessary for the project's successful registration and issuance of CER tokens.

Important Documents & Schemas

Project Description - Project Participant information, standard project information, methodology information like baseline emissions, project emissions, etc.
Emissions Reduction – Schema included within the project information form; this is filled out by the project participant to calculate annual emission reductions.
Monitoring Report – The monitoring report is to be filled out based on the monitoring plan mentioned within the methodology.

Tools Referenced

Methodological Tool 03 - Tool to calculate project or leakage CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.
Methodological Tool 04 - Emissions from solid waste disposal sites
Methodological Tool 05 - Baseline, project and/or leakage emissions from electricity consumption and monitoring of electricity generation.
Methodological Tool 13 - Project and leakage emissions from composting

Token (Carbon Emission Reduction)

Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2.

Step by Step

Log in as the Standard Registry and import the policy either by file or through IPFS timestamp by selecting the third button at the top right.

To start using the policy you first have to change the status of the policy from “Draft” to “Dry Run” or “Publish”, then select the “Register” button.

Create a new user by clicking the “Create User” button and assign their role as Project Participant.

The Project Participant can now provide their name or the name they would like to see reflect when registering for this project (i.e. their organization’s name).

Сreate a new user again and assign their role as VVB.

The VVB can now provide their name or the name they would like users to see when reviewing projects (i.e. their organization’s name).

Log in as the SR and select the “Project Participants” or the “VVBs” tab to view the documents submitted by the Project Participant and by the VVB. The SR can approve their requests by clicking on the “Approve" button.

Log in as the Project Participant and create a new project by clicking on the "New Project" button. This form is used to collect information about the project, organization, and all the data needed to run the emission reduction calculations. Once all the required fields have been filled the “Create” button will turn dark blue. By selecting the “Create” button all the data will be sent to the SR for review/approval.

Log back in as the SR and after reviewing the document by selecting the “View Document” button, the SR can validate the project submitted by the Project Participant by clicking the “Validate” button. If the data does not satisfy the rules set by the SR, then the “Reject” button can be used.

Log in as the Project Participant and create a monitoring report by clicking on the “Add Report” button then fill out the monitoring report form.

After creating the monitoring report, the project participant assigns the VVB to verify it by navigating to the “Monitoring Reports” tab and selecting the dropdown under “Assign”.

Log in as the VVB and click the “Monitoring Reports” tab to review the document submitted by the Project Participant. After reviewing the monitoring report by selecting “View Document”, the VVB can select “Verify”.

Log in as the SR to review the monitoring report by selecting the “View Document” button in the “Monitoring Reports” tab. The SR can approve the monitoring report by selecting “Approve”. This will also trigger the minting process. You can see the minting status under “Status” change from “Minting” to “Minted”.

Once the minting process is completed, you can view the token amount by selecting the “Token History” tab.

The TrustChain can also be viewed by clicking on the “View TrustChain” button. Please note that the token amount may show “-1” when the tokens are still minting. Once the process is complete a notification will appear stating that the tokens have been minted and transferred.