Background

The introduction of Digital Waste Tracking in the UK was mandated by section 58 of The Environment Act 2021.  The new digital system will ultimately replace existing waste transfer notes, hazardous waste consignment notes & Annex VII documentation for exports. It will enable tracking of all household, commercial, and industrial waste (hazardous and non-hazardous).

The new approach aims to help legitimate operators meet reporting requirements more seamlessly whilst providing a more robust system to better support waste crime prevention and enforcement action. Read more about how the service fits within the Government’s wider Waste Crime Action Plan here.

Following a decision to postpone the implementation of mandatory Digital Waste Tracking from April 2025, Defra issued up-to-date plans for rollout and delivery (more info here).

 

Timelines and who’s affected:

The rollout is being overseen by Defra and managed through the relevant devolved government departments. The regulation will be implemented in two phases across 2026 and 2027.

Phase 1 comes into effect from October 2026 and applies to permitted waste receiving sites. This includes all UK permitted operations, installations and mobile plants as well as sites located on the same site where waste is produced.

Phase 2 will apply to waste carriers, brokers and dealers, as well as waste exporters and will come into effect in October 2027. Waste exemptions will also be included in Phase 2.

Phase 1 timeline (waste recievers):

• On 24th April – Draft legislation to introduce mandatory Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) was laid in Parliament. The regulations will transition the tracking of permitted waste from an outdated paper-based process towards a more easily traceable, reliable, digital system.
• From 28th April 2026 – A voluntary beta test of the service opens. Permitted waste receiving sites and software developers for the waste sector are encouraged to take part and help refine the system ahead of full rollout.
• From October 2026 – Mandatory digital recording of waste movements commences for permitted waste receiving sites in England and Wales.
• From January 2027 – Mandatory DWT use extends to permitted waste receiving sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Phase 2 timeline (carriers, brokers & dealers):

• from autumn 2026 – digital waste tracking service to be available to an invited group of waste collectors in increasing numbers (private beta phase)
• from spring 2027 – digital waste tracking service to be available publicly for all waste collectors (public beta phase)
• from October 2027 – digital waste tracking service mandatory for waste collectors

 

The new requirements:

Users will need to replace paper waste transfer notes and consignment notes with the digital system. All waste movements must be logged within two working days.

Once it becomes mandatory in October 2026, registering for the ‘Report receipt of waste’ (i.e. digital waste tracking) service will incur an upfront charge of £26. This charge covers use of the service for 12 months and therefore must be paid annually to maintain compliance.

More information on the scope of the service and what information will need to be recorded can be found here: Government response – GOV.UK.

 

What you should do to prepare:

Permitted waste operators must register to use the ‘Report receipt of waste’ service. If you operate a site in-scope of Phase 1 and haven’t yet registered for the service, please do so here as soon as possible.

Once registered, operators are advised to review and select a compatible software provider (here). These are software providers who have developed software that connects with the digital waste tracking API. There are dozens of ‘compatible providers’ and Defra regularly updates this list as more providers pass the necessary checks.

A temporary manual spreadsheet input option is available for those who cannot currently use an API service provider, however this option is substantially more time-consuming and burdensome. This option is expected to remain in place until October 2027, however it will not be a permanent option and operators are encouraged to consider software routes as soon as practical.

 

More information:

Defra shares high-level info about the service rollout (incl. timelines, charges, etc.) here: Digital waste tracking service – GOV.UK. There are more details on the GitHub page (here) – although this is more targeted at software developers than DWT users and can be tricky to navigate. This page from the GitHub website contains a flow diagram for waste transfers and at what point in the process DWT comes into play.

Defra offers a helpdesk number which should connect you to the DWT team directly – 0300 203 781. Defra also issues updates and communications on a regular basis through its Circular Economy newsletter.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help.