From 28 April 2026, permitted operators receiving waste onto their site are encouraged to start using the new digital service to record receipt of waste. This marks the start of a phased transition for everyone involved in the handling of waste to record waste movements digitally.
Although participation is voluntary from April, the move to mandatory digital reporting has been laid in legislation. All affected organisations will be legally required to use the service from October 2026 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and from January 2027 in Scotland. Operators should treat preparation as essential rather than optional.
Digital Waste Tracking is a central part of the UK’s strengthened regulatory approach to waste management. It will eventually replace fragmented and inconsistent systems with a single digital service. When it becomes mandatory, any permitted site that receives waste must comply with the new requirements. Failure to do so will be considered non-compliant and may lead to enforcement action.
Why does this matter?
Waste crime costs the UK economy an estimated £1bn each year. Communities are left with pollution, abandoned waste and the long-term environmental impact of illegal activity. Many of these issues are enabled by poor record keeping, falsified paperwork and inconsistent processes. Paper notes and current reporting methods make it too easy for waste to be misdescribed, lost within the chain, giving criminal operators freedom to act without scrutiny.
Digital Waste Tracking will help close these gaps. The service will create a clear and near real-time record of where waste goes and who is responsible for it. Operators will benefit from a service that makes it simpler to comply with regulations and levels the playing field for legitimate businesses by tackling waste crime. Operators who fail to meet their legal duties will be easier for us to detect and are more likely to be investigated.
What the new service will do
Receipt of waste is the first part of Digital Waste Tracking, giving permitted waste receiving sites access to record waste digitally through either an application programming interface (API) linking directly to their waste management software, or through a simple to use spreadsheet.
Permitted waste receiving sites must use the service from October 2026
A temporary alternative submission route will be available during the transition period. Permitted waste sites must use Digital Waste Tracking once it becomes mandatory in October.
Initially we will not be moving away from current reporting methods. This means operators must also continue to complete hazardous waste consignee returns, quarterly waste returns, consignment notes and waste transfer notes as normal alongside using the Digital Waste Tracking to record receipt of waste movements.
Non-compliance will lead to enforcement
Once the service becomes mandatory, organisations will be required by law to use it correctly. Failure to comply will constitute a breach of waste regulations. Regulators will use the enforcement powers available to them where organisations do not meet their obligations. These powers include formal warnings, statutory notices, civil penalties, suspension or revocation of permits, and prosecution where the circumstances justify it. Penalties can be significant and may affect an organisation’s ability to continue operating within the waste sector. As we move to digital reporting, non-compliance will be easier to detect and harder to conceal.
Building barriers against waste crime
Digital reporting will give regulators more clear, consistent and accurate data. This will strengthen oversight of waste movements across the UK and help identify unusual patterns that may indicate unlawful behaviour. It will support earlier interventions and provide the evidence needed to take firm enforcement action. Responsible businesses will benefit from a more transparent and fair system in which compliance is easier to demonstrate.
Waste carriers, brokers and dealers will be next
Work has already begun to apply Digital Waste Tracking to waste carriers, brokers and dealers, so we encourage this group to begin preparing now. Discovery work has also started on Article 18 Green List Waste. This includes Annex VII which is the formal format/paperwork, that falls under the formal regulatory rules, which Article 18 Controls for shipping waste across international boundaries. Early engagement will help ensure the service meets operational needs while supporting compliance.
Sign up early
Digital Waste Tracking is one of the most significant regulatory changes in a generation. Mandatory use is approaching and organisations that do not prepare will face the risk of non-compliance and potential penalties. Signing up now is the most effective way to ensure readiness and to help shape the final service.
If you would like further information on the service please visit our dedicated GOV.UK page at Digital waste tracking service - GOV.UK.
Get involved
What would make digital reporting easier for your organisation? Your feedback will help us continue to improve the service.
Please call our dedicated Digital Waste Tracking Helpdesk on 03000 203 781 (open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm) or leave a comment.
14 comments
Comment by Seren Church posted on
Just to highlight there are a few spelling mistakes throughout this page...
'Permitted waste reciving sites'
'Initally we will'
Comment by David Costello posted on
What is the cost of the Off the shelf software to enable digital waste tracking for a waste carrier?
Once mandatory for waste carriers (October 2027) and a fee of £26 per annum is introduced, will I still have to pay my waste carrier fee on top of the £26 per annum?
Will the government provide the NHS with a software free of charge, also is there an exemption for the NHS?
Comment by Bob posted on
Nothing official can claim to be compliant for carriers under DWT. Defra haven’t released the spec for phase 2 yet and they have until October 2027 when the mandate is scheduled.
There will be cost effective software solutions out there for carriers.
Comment by P Walker posted on
How will this work for the small scrap metal business' that currently operate with exemptions?
Comment by Bob posted on
Exemptions don’t come into the DWT until phase 2 which isn’t due to be mandated until October 2027
Comment by Leila posted on
It is sad to see that Defra is pushing for authorized programmes only, which cost around £300 per month if you need more than 1 user (because, you know.. we all want to go on holiday at least once a year!)
They are completely out of touch with the sites and smaller businesses! £300 a month is another lorry on a road! and to be spending that on poxy software that they PAT testes with their poxy 14 points, yet you have found a way to save your small business money by developing your own system and an easy api connection which would handle to daily submission directly from your system to their system is absolutely appalling!
Not to mention that all those systems are cloud based and with so many different outages in the past 2 years, i am shocked to see they will not allow a private software connection via api!
Comment by Bob posted on
Not all software is £300 per month to be compliant and submit to defra there are software platforms from £30 per month.
Comment by Alan warr posted on
So what about sole traders like myself. At the moment I have a small business permit for my local recycling plant but now it seems I have to use the much more expensive weigh bridge option, either that or not be able to remove clients garden waste!
Comment by Bob posted on
I don’t think this applies to you. The phase 1 roll out is receiving sites submitting received wastes within 2 working days. Your permit to tip is still valid and you will likely fall into phase 2 when carriers and brokers are folded into the DWT
Comment by Alan posted on
Hi Bob, my local RE3 recycling plant has put a hold on the small business permits and has told me (and other permit holders) that I will have to use the weigh bridge which for green waste is £83 for half a ton until they have a solution and have taken further advice. This is the minimum it will cost. The most I have paid is around £15 so a massive increase on my outgoings
Comment by Bob posted on
Hi Alan,
That sounds like RE3's interpretation rather than what the rules require.
The Phase 1 duty is theirs, not yours. The receiving site records what it takes in, and commercial waste at an HWRC is in scope from October. Your permit to tip isn't what's changed — their record-keeping has. Carriers and brokers only come in at Phase 2.
And there's no requirement to weigh. The receipt needs a quantity, a unit, and a flag saying whether it's actual or estimated — estimates are allowed by design, because plenty of loads never cross a weighbridge. Sending small-permit holders to the weighbridge is a commercial decision on their side, not something digital waste tracking forces on them.
Worth asking them in writing: which requirement obliges them to weigh a small-permit load, and will they reinstate permits recording an estimated weight per visit? What they actually need from you is your carrier registration number and the right waste code — a permit can carry those as easily as a weighbridge ticket.
Comment by stuart posted on
They don't care about the small businesses, we're an inconvenience.
They want all the big firms to get everything so they know what's going on.
Comment by Alex posted on
Just to clarify, sites operating under exemption for baling and storing will not have to DWT until Phase 2 (October 2027)? Our commodity is paper and cardboard which all comply with green list.
Comment by Sean posted on
This is quite a concern for a sole trader like myself as have heard all sorts of things about what phase 2 will look like,guess we can only wait but sure it will cost more and involves more work and time away from family life.
For all of us who do legitimate business this is just a hit for more revenue,the people who are rogue traders or fly tippers aren't in the system now so how will they be caught how does it stop these people will they suddenly join us in the system.
It still won't be policed but the extra revenue from us hardworking proper business people will help clear up the mess of others,
Small people like myself who put all their time in and are permanently tired are seemingly unimportant,maybe I only have another year and will have to pack it in and find different work(don't know what).
The reason myself and others do the work we do is because we don't wish to play with a screen just get honest dirt on our hands so the prospect of apps,inputting etc is a scare unless again you have more outgoings to pay a third party service.