From today (1 October 2026), permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales will have to report the controlled waste they receive through the new service.
Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow in January 2027, while carriers, brokers and dealers are not due to enter the mandatory system until October 2027.
So, what changes in October – and what doesn’t?
What is Digital Waste Tracking?
Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) is a new UK-wide system designed to create a more complete digital record of waste movements.
The service is being introduced by the UK, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish governments and their environmental regulators, with the aim of replacing fragmented paper-based systems with more consistent digital information about where waste is generated, moved and received.
The government says the current system leaves regulators with significant gaps in their understanding of waste movements. DWT is intended to provide more timely and detailed information to regulators, supporting enforcement and helping to build a better picture of waste flows across the UK.
However, the system is being introduced incrementally rather than switching on as a fully end-to-end tracking system from October.
The first phase covers waste receiving sites. The second phase will bring waste collectors – including carriers, brokers and dealers – into the system, with public testing planned for spring 2027 and mandatory use from October 2027.
Who needs to use DWT?
The first mandatory requirement applies to organisations that are licensed or permitted to receive controlled waste.
In England and Wales, this includes permitted operations, installations and mobile plants, as well as permitted sites located where waste is produced. Most household, commercial and industrial waste is classed as controlled waste.
From today, these organisations must use the government’s ‘Report receipt of waste’ service to record every load of controlled waste they receive.
There are some exceptions. For example, Welsh household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) do not have to use the service, while English HWRCs do not need to record household waste received from residents under phase one.
What information will be recorded?
For the first phase, receiving sites will need to submit information about the waste they receive. This includes waste movement, carrier and receiver details, waste classification codes, recovery and disposal codes, and information relating to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and hazardous waste.
Waste classification information includes the relevant List of Waste, or EWC, code.
For waste containing POPs, operators will need to provide the substance name and concentration where applicable.
For hazardous waste, the information includes relevant hazardous property codes, chemical or biological components and the concentration of hazardous components.
Receiving sites in England and Wales will generally have two working days, starting on the day after receipt, to submit their records. The system provides for corrections, with errors required to be corrected as soon as possible and within one month of being discovered.
How will businesses submit the information?
There are currently two main routes for waste receiving sites, which can be used in combination.
The first is through an application programming interface (API), which allows a site’s existing waste-management software to connect with the DWT service and transfer information automatically.
Defra has published a list of compatible software providers, although businesses can also work with their own software provider provided it meets the requirements and connects to the Receipt of Waste API.
The second option is a government-provided spreadsheet. Businesses without compatible software can download Defra’s template, complete the mandatory fields and upload it to the service. Multiple waste movements can be included in one spreadsheet before it is submitted.
There is also a process for businesses that are considered digitally excluded and contingency arrangements are in place for service outages. In the event of an outage, operators must retain a written record and transfer the information to the digital service once it is available again.
For organisations using the service, there is an annual £26 charge per legal entity, covering all waste-receiving sites operated by that organisation. The first payment is due by 31 January 2027.
What happens to waste transfer notes?
Waste transfer notes are not disappearing on 1 October. For the initial phase, the existing paper-based system will continue alongside DWT.
This means businesses must continue to complete waste transfer notes, Annex VII forms and hazardous waste consignment notes where required, as well as continuing to submit existing waste returns and hazardous waste consignee returns.
The Environment Agency has similarly said that receiving sites will initially have to use DWT alongside current reporting methods.
The longer-term intention is to move away from these existing reporting arrangements as DWT develops. Government and the environmental regulators will develop transition plans for moving from existing data returns towards using information collected through the digital service.
Why is the government introducing it?
A major driver behind DWT is waste crime. The government says the current paper-based system gives environmental regulators incomplete visibility of waste movements, making it more difficult to identify suspicious activity and investigate illegal waste operations.
DWT is intended to provide regulators with more timely and consistent information about individual waste movements, creating a more detailed audit trail of where waste is being sent and received.
The government has said the system could help regulators identify suspicious movements and support enforcement action against operators handling waste illegally.
It could also give regulators better information about whether waste is being received at legitimate destinations and whether sites are accepting waste in line with their permits.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “Waste criminals used to exploit the gaps but now they will have nowhere to hide.
“We are backing the communities whose lives have been blighted by this disgusting crime. Through this new service, real time information will mean faster enforcement and more evidence to catch rogue operators and shut them down at every part of the waste journey.”
The benefits will not, however, arrive in full today. Initially, the system will provide regulators with information from waste receiving sites. As carriers, brokers and dealers are brought into the service during the second phase, the government intends to move closer to a record covering the full waste chain.
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