The idea of converting organic waste into an asset that improves soil health and reduces greenhouse gas emissions sounds great. Doing it is another matter.
However, by harnessing the power of growing trends in waste management, the voluntary carbon credit market and technology, it is possible to develop a rangeland restoration project that fulfills the promise of a circular economy built around organic waste.
Challenges
Massive Diversion of Organic Material
To reduce methane emissions and maintain landfill capacity, California’s organic diversion law, SB 1383, required that jurisdictions divert 75 percent of the state’s organic waste by 2025. This amounted to roughly 27 million tons annually. However, that goal was not met, in part, because adequate recycling facility capacity and infrastructure do not exist to process the millions of tons of organic waste.
Properly Using Compost and Mulch
The second challenge is how to use the tons of compost and mulch created from the diverted materials. What’s its highest and best use? No matter how much of the material is used on city property and given away to residents, much remains.
Degraded Rangeland Soil
Due primarily to past overgrazing and surface mining, much of the rangeland soil in California has very low organic matter content and is often dry and hard. Consequently, it is not conducive to water infiltration or storage. Most of the rangelands have also been overtaken by invasive grasses. The problem of degraded rangeland in California affects food production and worldwide food availability.
Though they are very interested in applying compost to improve soil health, Ranchers lack the resources to access and apply large amounts of compost. They also have concerns about compost contamination, weed seeds and pathogens. Fortunately, strict regulatory and industry quality standards are currently in place to resolve many of these concerns.
Though significant, these challenges offer a compelling solution: converting excess organic materials into an asset that improves rangeland soil and stores carbon.
The Extraordinary Benefits of Compost
For-profit, nonprofit and government organizations are all looking to solve the distribution problem while bolstering rangeland soil health.
The impact of compost as a catalyst for improved soil health and carbon sequestration is supported as a priority by the Federal USDA and California’s Climate Smart Agriculture Plan. The Marin Carbon Project in Marin County was a foundational initiative that demonstrated the ability of compost to transform rangeland into carbon sinks.
In addition to carbon storage, compost produces several equally valuable core benefits, such as improved overall soil health, increased volume and nutritional value of grasses and increased water infiltration and storage.
But the question remains: how to get the compost to the rangelands at scale and pay for spreading?
The Solution: Ecological Restoration Funded Primarily by High-Integrity Carbon Credit Revenues
To overcome these challenges and seize these opportunities requires building a financially sustainable approach. One viable and impactful pathway is to develop a carbon credit project that is registered on a voluntary carbon registry. Essentially, for every ton of carbon stored in the soil, a registry issues a carbon credit. Purchasers, such as corporations, can then either resell the credit or retire it and count it as a reduction to their carbon footprint. In doing so, the buyers are funding climate projects which wouldn’t otherwise happen.
Full registration is daunting and requires the completion of scoping and feasibility studies as well as ultimately a comprehensive Project Design Document (PDD). The PDD encompasses a detailed description of the project, academic and field studies, measurement, monitoring and reporting mechanisms, regulatory compliance, community outreach and rigorous modeling.
The complexity of the work requires a multidisciplinary team, with skills in compost production and application, ranch management, soil science, ecological restoration, carbon finance, law, regulatory compliance, public policy, and large-scale project management.
Voluntary Carbon Market Trends
There is an accelerating trend toward private companies and some public entities seeking to reduce their carbon footprint, especially for “unavoidable residual emissions.” To reduce such emissions, companies are increasingly turning to high-integrity, nature-based credits.
The market is maturing. Carbon credit purchasers want assurance that the benefits of the credits are real and verifiable. To prevent “greenwashing” and ensure genuine environmental impact, nature-based credits rely on increasingly strict measurement, reporting and verification. The majority of buyers rely on internationally recognized standards such as Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard, the Climate Action Reserve or Gold Standard. To further ensure quality, the registries require third-party auditors to verify the climate benefits are real, measurable, additional, and permanent.
Trusted Ranching Partners
None of this happens without trusted, experienced ranching partners. The rancher agreements generally establish the ranchers’ long-term commitment to the program as well as the carbon credit revenue-sharing structure. In return for their commitment to a long-term, non-exclusive use of their land, the compost provider assumes responsibility for the costs of applying the compost and for the issuance and sale of the credits. In addition to revenue sharing and core benefits, ranchers receive an increased herd stocking rate, and improvement in land value and the overall financial viability of their ranching operation.
Digital Measurement and Reporting
Adopting a strong system to measure and report the amount of carbon stored is essential for a project’s credibility and marketability. The dominant trend in soil-based credits is the shift toward digital platforms. The most viable systems are based on soil samples with Digital Soil Mapping (DSM), remote satellite sensing and artificial intelligence modeling. It is exponentially more efficient and cost-effective while maintaining result accuracy and integrity.
High Integrity Credits
Buyers are increasingly seeking high-integrity credits. These are based on the latest, most rigorous verification standards, located in regions with strong regulatory standards, robust measurement and reporting systems, and command higher prices in the market.
Closing the Loop
By marshaling these emerging trends, there is an opportunity to address the challenges of organic waste diversion, degraded rangeland soil, and greenhouse gas emissions while achieving rangeland restoration and fulfilling the promise of a closed-loop circular economy for organic waste.
Mike Powers: Founder/Managing Partner, CoolPath Inc.
Mike Powers is the founder and managing partner of CoolPath, Inc. Mike is passionate about fulfilling the mission of CoolPath to achieve ecological restoration while reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a sustainable business model and strong partnerships. He can be reached at mike@coolpath.com.
