AMS-III.F Overview

Overview

AMS-III.F is a UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology titled "Avoidance of methane emissions through composting" (v12.0). It provides the scientific and regulatory basis for quantifying greenhouse gas emission reductions achieved by diverting organic waste from landfills to aerobic composting facilities.

The methodology calculates how much CO₂-equivalent was avoided by composting waste instead of sending it to a landfill, where it would decompose anaerobically and generate methane (CH₄).

• Official reference: AMS-III.F on UNFCCC CDM
• Version: 12.0
• Credit type: Carbon Credit — Tokenized Carbon Credits (TCC)
• On-chain token: C-CARB.CH4 (methane avoidance)

Digital implementation of AMS-III.F

AMS-III.F matters because organic waste in landfills is one of the largest sources of anthropogenic methane, accounting for approximately 11% of global CH₄ emissions. Composting is a proven, scalable solution — but historically, measuring and verifying the avoided emissions has been expensive and manual, limiting participation to large-scale projects.

The BOLD Carbon framework implements AMS-III.F through Carrot's dMRV infrastructure via the BOLD Carbon (CH₄) framework (MvF), which translates the methodology into automated, transparent verification logic. This enables:

• Small-scale facility participation — dMRV reduces verification costs, reducing barriers to carbon credit issuance for smaller facilities.
• Continuous verification — Instead of periodic audits, every batch of composted waste is verified individually through MassID chain of custody tracking.
• Open-source rules — All verification logic is publicly auditable under LGPL-3.0, so anyone can inspect how credits are calculated.
• Supply chain rewards — Revenue from credit purchases is distributed to every participant in the supply chain, not only the facility operator.

Each C-CARB.CH4 credit represents 1 metric ton of CO₂-equivalent emissions avoided. Composting 1 ton of food waste mixed with 1 ton of green waste avoids over 2 tons of CO₂e compared to landfill disposal without methane capture.

Scientific basis

AMS-III.F relies on established environmental science from the UNFCCC CDM:

• Baseline emissions: Calculated using UNFCCC CDM Tool 04 — emissions from solid waste disposal sites (landfills and dumps)
• Real emissions from composting: Calculated using UNFCCC CDM Tool 13 — project and leakage emissions from composting
• Avoidance methodology: UNFCCC AMS-III.F v12.0 — avoidance of methane emissions through composting

The core calculation: Avoided Emissions = Baseline Emissions - Real Emissions

Scope

• Facility type: Small-scale, off-site professional aerobic composting facilities (SSC)
• Waste types: Food waste and green waste (garden/yard trimmings)
• Baseline scenarios: Landfill without methane capture, landfill with methane flaring, dump site
• Verification: dMRV with MassID chain of custody tracking
• Credit issuance: GasID certificates → C-CARB.CH4 credit tokens

How it works

1. Organic waste is verified as composted through BOLD Recycling, generating RecycledID certificates.
2. The composting facility's mix ratio (food waste to green waste) is verified.
3. Baseline emissions are calculated based on the local waste disposal scenario.
4. Real emissions from composting are calculated using verified facility data.
5. The difference (avoided emissions) generates GasID certificates.
6. GasID certificates are created and corresponding C-CARB.CH4 credits are minted.
7. Revenue from credit purchases is distributed per the Rewards Distribution Policy.

Carrot framework

AMS-III.F is implemented on the Carrot Network through the BOLD Carbon (CH₄) framework (MvF). BOLD Carbon translates the CDM methodology into concrete verification rules, formulas, and data requirements that can be executed as automated dMRV.

Resources

• View on Carrot Explorer
• BOLD Carbon (CH₄) Methodology Framework (PDF)
• AMS-III.F on UNFCCC CDM

Feedback: method@carrot.eco

Learn about BOLD Recycling · View BOLD Carbon (CH₄) framework · Learn about rewards distribution