Municipal Solid Waste Treatment by Composting in Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam

Audit Analysis

A VCS composting project in Ghaziabad, India, with VVB-confirmed additionality via an investment test, but undermined by a 7.6-fold discrepancy between the PDD and validation report on total emission reductions, a 0% leakage deduction with only a 'deemed negligible' justification, and the absence of FPIC. The project is at validation stage with no monitoring data yet available, and 17 material findings (all resolved) indicate significant initial documentation weaknesses.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Total ERR in the PDD (332,931) is 7.6 times the validated figure (43,598) in the validation report, indicating major calculation errors in the original project design (incorrect BECH4 formula, capacity confusion between 250t and 400t)
• ⚠Leakage deduction of 0% justified only as 'deemed negligible' with no quantified analysis, which is questionable for a composting project where waste diversion to alternative disposal is a realistic leakage pathway
• ⚠FPIC was not conducted per the validation report, contradicting the PDD which stated it was done — a safeguards gap for a municipal waste project affecting local communities
• ⚠17 material findings raised during validation, including missing legal compliance evidence, incorrect emission factor formulas, and missing monitoring parameters

Credit Vintages

No issuances recorded on the registry.