DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) service went live in April 2026. Since 1 October 2026 it has been mandatory for sites that receive waste under an environmental permit or a waste exemption: they must report every load they receive within two working days. Carriers and brokers are expected to come into scope from October 2027. Crucially, DWT runs alongside waste transfer notes and consignment notes. It does not replace them. This guide explains who is in scope now, what has to be reported, and how to prepare.
Background: Resources and Waste Strategy
The Resources and Waste Strategy for England (2018) committed government to mandatory digital waste tracking to tackle waste crime, close data gaps on national waste flows and make enforcement data-driven. The Environment Act 2021 gave the Secretary of State powers to require producers, carriers and receiving sites to report waste movements through a specified service. DWT is that service, delivered UK-wide with the devolved administrations.
What Is the Digital Waste Tracking Service?
DWT is a government database of waste movements. In Phase 1, the receiving site reports each receipt, normally through its software via the DEFRA Receipt of Waste API. Each organisation registers once, pays an annual service charge and gives its unique API code to its software provider. A receipt record typically includes:
- Waste description, EWC code(s) and physical form
- Quantity, and whether it was weighed or estimated
- Carrier details and registration number
- Receiving site permit or exemption reference
- Date received and the treatment or disposal (R/D) code
- For hazardous waste: HP codes, components and any POPs concentrations
Errors must be corrected within one month of being discovered.
Who Is in Scope Now
- From 1 October 2026: permitted and exempt receiving sites (transfer stations, MRFs, treatment, recovery and disposal sites). Report each receipt within two working days.
- Expected from October 2027: waste carriers, brokers and dealers.
- Later phases: producers. Timings have not been confirmed.
Always check the latest GOV.UK guidance, as DEFRA has moved these dates before.
What It Does Not Replace
Waste transfer notes, hazardous waste consignment notes and consignee returns all continue until further notice. Every transfer of controlled waste still needs a compliant WTN under the duty of care, whether or not a DWT record is also made. In practice, a good digital WTN is the easiest source for the DWT receipt record, because the EWC codes, carrier details and quantities are already captured.
How It Works in Practice
At a receiving site the weighbridge or site software creates the receipt record when the load is accepted, then submits it to DEFRA. DEFRA returns a waste tracking ID for the movement. Sites that accept paper notes from incoming carriers will have to re-key that information inside the two-day window, which is where most of the administrative cost falls.
Impact on Your Business
- Receiving sites: need DWT-capable software now, plus a process for correcting rejected or wrong records.
- Carriers: sites will increasingly ask for clean digital data at the gate. Getting your notes digital now prepares you for your own 2027 obligations.
- Producers: no DWT reporting yet, but your duty of care and WTN obligations are unchanged.
How to Prepare
- Confirm whether your sites are in Phase 1 (do you hold a permit or registered exemption to receive waste?).
- Register your organisation with DWT and pay the service charge.
- Choose software that submits to the Receipt of Waste API and give it your API code.
- Move your waste transfer notes to digital so the data is already structured.
QWTN creates digital waste transfer notes today. For receiving sites, it builds the DEFRA receipt record from each load and submits it to the DWT API. That submission is built in and is currently going through DEFRA's production approval tests. See our guide to what a waste transfer note must contain.
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