Platform Architecture

How the Carrot Network works

The Carrot Network transforms verified recycling and waste management work into tradeable environmental credits. It connects every participant in the recycling supply chain — from waste generators to certified recyclers — through a digital pipeline that captures physical work, verifies it against scientific methodologies, and represents the outcomes as on-chain assets.

This page provides the end-to-end view. Each step links to a dedicated page with full details.

Overview

1. Supply chain data capture

Network Integrators digitize waste management operations, capturing material type, weight, and chain of custody at every handoff. This data enters the platform via the Carrot API, creating a digital record of the physical work performed across the recycling supply chain.

2. MassID creation

Supply chain data is codified into MassIDs — the foundational data units of the network. Each MassID records material type, weight, and the full chain of custody from waste source to recycling facility. As materials move through the supply chain, MassIDs are created and updated, building the Proof-of-Physical-Work and Proof-of-Provenance record that methodology execution will later verify.

3. Methodology execution

The platform processes MassIDs through its digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (dMRV) pipeline — verifying compliance with scientific standards, evaluating conditions, and producing verified outcomes. Each methodology is implemented as a Methodology Verification Framework (MvF) that defines the rules, and a Methodology Verification Application (MvA) that automates their execution. When a MassID passes methodology verification, it is marked eligible for tokenization.

Learn about methodology execution

4. Tokenization

Each verified MassID is tokenized on-chain — metadata is built, uploaded to IPFS, and the MassID NFT is minted on-chain. This creates an immutable, publicly verifiable record of the waste batch.

Learn about the tokenization process

5. Certificate issuance

When a MassID passes methodology verification under a specific methodology at an accredited facility, certificates (GasID or RecycledID) are issued. Certificates link verified environmental outcomes — recycled material or avoided greenhouse gas emissions — to the underlying MassID that proves the physical work occurred.

6. Credit generation

Certificates generate fungible credit tokens — Tokenized Recycling Credits (TRC) and Tokenized Carbon Credits (TCC) — each representing 1 metric ton of verified environmental impact. The BOLD Recycling methodology issues TRCs as C-BIOW; the BOLD Carbon (CH₄) methodology issues TCCs as C-CARB.CH4 (methane). Other methodologies may issue different credit symbols. Credits are standard ERC-20 tokens, designed for market activity: purchasing, holding, and retiring.

7. Credit purchase

Buyers (organizations or individuals) purchase credits through Carrot interfaces — for example, the Carrot Store for individuals, or Carrot-provided interfaces for organizations. Purchases are settled as atomic on-chain transactions in USDC; all steps complete in a single transaction or none of them do.

8. Rewards distribution

Revenue from credit purchases is distributed back to every participant in the recycling supply chain, proportional to their verified contribution. This Recycle-to-Earn model ensures that Waste Generators, Bin Custodians, Haulers, Processors, Recyclers, and Network Integrators are all rewarded for the environmental work they perform.

9. Credit retirement

Purchased credits are retired to permanently claim the environmental benefit they represent. Retirement burns the credit tokens on-chain and mints a soulbound CreditRetirementReceipt as permanent proof. Credits can be retired standalone (at any time after purchase) or through integrated retirement (purchased and retired in a single atomic transaction).

Public verifiability

All on-chain activity — from MassID minting through credit retirement — is recorded on the public blockchain as smart contract transactions. This data is publicly verifiable and consumable by anyone and any platform: auditors, regulators, indexers, and third-party applications can read and verify it directly from the chain without relying on Carrot's infrastructure. That design enables interoperability (other systems can build on the same data) and transparency and trust independent of Carrot's availability.

The Carrot Explorer offers a user-friendly, domain-focused view of on-chain data plus platform data (methodology definitions, rule execution, accreditations). For decentralized, infrastructure-independent verification of on-chain data only, any blockchain block explorer (e.g. PolygonScan) provides direct access to raw transactions and event logs. See Interoperability for how external systems can monitor, index, and verify Carrot data.

Deeper topics

• Token Hierarchy — The MassID, Certificate, and Credit lifecycle and relationships
• Smart Contracts — The on-chain infrastructure that powers the network
• dMRV — digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification
• Supply Chain — Participant roles, logistics flows, and the validator model
• Explorer — The Carrot Explorer and blockchain block explorers for verifying on-chain data