Carrot launches BOLD for public consultation

A tokenized recycling credit designed to address 50% of global waste and unlock the transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon, and inclusive circular economy

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the BOLD (Breakthrough in Organics Landfill Diversion) Recycling Credit, and we invite the global tech, finance and environmental communities to review and comment on the methodology presented below.

Introduction

We are living on a very inefficient planet. More than 82% of the materials we consume end up in landfills, dumps, or incinerators. Yet, more than 90% of those resources could be recycled and/or reused. The current “take > make > waste” linear economy robs our planet of its resources, pollutes our lands and waters, and is very carbon intensive, as we needlessly extract, haul, and process additional raw materials each time we create a new product.

The transition to a circular economy that reutilizes resources is not only fundamental to building a sustainable future, but it is also the fastest and cheapest way to create a low-carbon planet. It is estimated that we can address 85% of the greenhouse gas reduction needed to stay below 2 degrees Celsius (from pre-industrial levels) if we simply double our current circularity rate. Imagine what the world could look like if recycling rates were taken beyond 90%.

The BOLD Recycling Credit has been designed to do just this!

BOLD, the unlocking mechanism

Approximately 50% of global waste is organic (e.g., food waste, green waste, sludge, etc.), and while organic waste is 100% recyclable (through composting or anaerobic digestion), virtually all of it ends up in a landfill or a dump. When organic waste is mixed with other recyclables (e.g., glass, metals, plastics, etc.), those materials also become too expensive and difficult to sort, clean, and recycle in just about every part of the world.

The BOLD Recycling Credit is issued for certified organic waste diverted from landfills to professional composting facilities. The purchase of tokenized BOLD Recycling Credits by individuals or companies investing in the transition to a low-carbon, circular future or in offsetting waste footprints (Extended Producer Responsibility programs) distributes rewards to all of the participants along the recycling supply chain, helping those who are doing good work to cover the costs of sorting, hauling, and treating organic waste. Rewards encourage others to participate and invest capital into recycling supply chains where they are working, helping service providers, who often cannot source funding, scale.

When organic waste is sorted, recycling rates of other recyclable materials improve by multiple factors as volumes and the recyclability of resources improve.

BOLD therefore becomes the tool for creating two independent circular resource streams that can each be scaled: the biological (organics/carbon) cycle and the technical (materials) cycle, capable of taking overall recycling rates to more than 90%. [The BOLD logo pays homage to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and its wonderful visual representation of the circular economy known as “The Butterfly Diagram”.]

Transparency

The BOLD Recycling Credit is a product launched on the Carrot Blockchain Network a digital, Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) platform that tracks waste and product supply chains and enables “circularity” certification. Each BOLD credit contains specific data on a uniquely measured and verified amount of waste mass (MassID) that reached a recycling center, as well as the distribution of the rewards to each of the participants stored in the chain of custody of each MassID. We believe this introduces never-before-seen transparency to environmental markets and establishes the foundation upon which a market for recycling credits can be scaled globally.

Conclusion

The Carrot and BOLD teams are very excited about the potential for BOLD. We believe it can be a revolutionary tech product for the environment, one that can ultimately set us on the path to ending waste, preserving vital natural resources for future generations to use, and building a low-carbon and inclusive circular economy.

We invite you, the reader, and your network to review and help us make BOLD better by sending us your feedback to standards@carrot.eco. We are certain that there is room for improvement, and we would love to hear from you. Let us build this promising Zero Waste future together!

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View and download the BOLD methodology.