The policy was set by the previous Conservative government to come into effect in April 2025.
At this stage it is likely that all waste policy – with a few exceptions – will be paused pending the outcome of the Dan Corry review and the direction of the Circular Economy Taskforce. These exceptions include Simpler Recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR).
In October 2024, Defra announced that it will conduct an internal regulatory review led by economist Dan Corry.
The Circular Economy Taskforce was launched in December and will co-design of the first strategy to begin the transition to a circular economy in England.
Local authorities have told letsrecycle.com that there haven’t been any signs of technology trials or similar in the lead up to the April deadline – making it highly unlikely that the policy will go ahead.
Defra told letsrecycle.com: “Ministers across the four nations have been reviewing the waste tracking policy and we will be providing an update very soon to provide clarity and reassurance for stakeholders.”
What is Digital Waste Tracking?
Mandatory DWT was announced as part of the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy “to provide a comprehensive way to see what is happening to the waste produced in the UK”.
It would see a single system deployed across the UK for tracking waste online.
A consultation was conducted in 2022 and a contract with an IT supplier was confirmed in 2023, but there have been no further updates since the Labour government came into power.
Respondents to the consultation said that it could cost organisations more than £100,000 to transition to a mandatory DWT.
However, it was also suggested that councils could save up to £40,000 in the first year via data storage costs, time spent checking data quality, not having to complete or submit waste returns and time spent obtaining information from customers.
In August 2024, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) found that that only 20% of policies outlined in the 2018 Resources & Waste Strategy have been implemented in the five years since its launch.
This report included mention of the DWT which was originally scheduled for 2019 and then delayed.
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