Digital waste tracking in the UK
Every site with a waste permit or licence that receives controlled waste reports each load to Defra within two working days.
Already filled in Defra’s spreadsheet? Check it for free
What digital waste tracking is
Defra’s UK-wide service for recording waste movements. Its first phase covers waste received at permitted sites: each load reported gets a Defra reference. It runs alongside your duty of care, not in place of it.
- NowSites that receive wasteEach load they receive, reported to Defra.
- NextCarriers, brokers and dealersOn Defra’s published timetable.
Who has to report
Reports
- Sites with a waste permit or licence that receive controlled waste
- Including scrap metal and vehicle dismantling sites with a permit
- Such as permitted transfer stations, landfills, recyclers and treatment plants
Does not report
- Sites with only a waste exemption, for now
- Household waste from residents at relevant council sites in England; household waste recycling centres in Wales
- Operators with a regulator-issued digital exclusion number, who keep written records instead
- Producers and contractors, unless they also run a permitted site that receives waste. The receiving site will ask for the load’s details: the transfer note has them.
Scotland excludes former exempt sites, registration-level authorisations and certain council-site permits. Not sure? Check on GOV.UK whether you need to report
When it starts in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
| Nation | Starts | Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| England | 1 October 2026 | Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/729 |
| Wales | 1 October 2026 | Digital Waste Tracking (Wales) Regulations 2026, WSI 2026/105 |
| Scotland | 1 January 2027 | Digital Waste Tracking (Scotland) Regulations 2026, SSI 2026/145 |
| Northern Ireland | January 2027 | Planned. Its Regulations are not yet made. |
| Carriers, brokers and dealers | October 2027 | Planned, on Defra’s published timetable |
The Digital Waste Tracking Regulations 2026
England, Wales and Scotland each have their own Regulations. Schedule 1 lists what is recorded for each load.
- Date and time received
- Receiving site and permit
- Carrier and registration
- Waste description
- EWC code
- Weight
- Physical form
- Containers
- Disposal or recovery code
- Vehicle where it applies
- Hazardous properties and POPs where it applies
- Consignment code where it applies
Not reporting is an offence, and regulators also have civil penalties and compliance notices.
Two working days to report each load
For an ordinary load, the deadline is the end of the second working day after the day it arrives. Piped waste has separate receipt-period rules. A load counts as reported only once Defra has issued its reference.
- An error Defra reports
- Correct it within the same two working days. A rejected upload doesn’t restart the clock.
- An error you find later
- Correct it as soon as you can, and within a month of finding it.
- When the service is down
- In England, keep a written record and enter it within seven working days of the service coming back.
How to report receipt of waste
Register the organisation with Defra, not a person. Defra charges £26 a year per organisation, which covers all its receiving sites. Then report by either route, or both: Defra’s spreadsheet, or an API connection, which our digital waste tracking software makes from your weighbridge export.
Defra’s spreadsheet
- One workbook per organisation covers any number of its sites; start a fresh one for each upload.
- Upload it to Defra’s service. Defra’s result gives each load its reference, or the errors to correct.
An API connection
- Your provider sends each load to Defra’s Receipt of Waste API.
- Defra lists the products that meet its requirements. Ask each supplier how it works with your own system.
Register and sign in at report-receipt-of-waste.service.gov.uk
Waste tools
Prepare your Defra report sends the loads in your weighbridge export straight to Defra. The rest are free, with no account.
Prepare your Defra report
Weighbridge or office export in, every load checked, sent straight to Defra.
14 days free, then £30 a month
Defra Receipt of Waste spreadsheet checker
Already filled in Defra’s workbook? Check it before you upload.
Free
EWC code finder
All 842 codes, and whether each is hazardous.
Free
Waste transfer note
Fill it in on a phone, both sign, share the PDF. Includes a one-load Defra row for the receiving site.
Free
Waste transfer note template
A blank transfer note with your logo, single or annual, as PDF, Word or Excel.
Free
Hazardous waste consignment note
Parts A to E on a phone, each person signs their part.
Free
RCRA waste code finder
Find the federal RCRA code for a waste, or check a code you’ve been given.
Free
California waste code finder
Find the California code for a waste, or check a code you’ve been given.
Free
Texas waste code finder
Find the Texas form code for a waste, or read a full Texas waste code.
Free
Australian waste code finder
Find your state’s waste code for a waste, or check a code you’ve been given.
Free
Canadian waste code finder
Find the waste codes your province uses, or check a code you’ve been given.
Free
Carrier registration check
Is this carrier number real?
Coming soon
Defra’s template: Download the Receipt of Waste workbook (.xlsx)
Transfer notes and consignment notes still apply
Digital waste tracking doesn’t replace them yet. Where non-hazardous waste needs a transfer note, or hazardous waste a consignment note, it still does, on paper or electronically. The receiving site’s report to Defra is in addition.
Questions
What does Defra charge?
£26 a year for each organisation, covering all its receiving sites, paid to Defra. The first payment is due by 31 January 2027. Defra publishes no charge per load.
Can I use my own spreadsheet?
No. Defra accepts only its own template, unchanged. Prepare your Defra report turns your weighbridge export into that template.
What if Defra rejects my spreadsheet?
Defra’s result marks the errors, and a load with an error gets no reference. Correct it and upload again within the same two working days: a rejection doesn’t restart the clock.
Is the spreadsheet route ending?
Not before October 2027, when Defra will review it. The Welsh Government expects sites to need an API route after that.
Does this apply in Scotland now?
From 1 January 2027. SEPA is the regulator, and some Scottish sites are excluded.
Who do I call?
For the service itself, Defra’s helpline on 03000 203 781, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, excluding public and bank holidays, for sites anywhere in the UK. For how the rules apply to you: the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 in England, Natural Resources Wales at wastetracking@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk, SEPA at digitalwastetracking@sepa.org.uk in Scotland, and DAERA in Northern Ireland.
Prepare your Defra report
Start from your weighbridge export
Upload the export your weighbridge or office system already makes. Confirm the columns once. Download Defra’s workbook.
Reporting rules checked on 14 October 2026.