Digital Waste Tracking changes how waste receipt information is reported, but it does not mean waste businesses can stop managing the documents and evidence behind their waste movements.
From 1 October 2026, licensed and permitted waste receiving sites in England and Wales must report details of controlled waste they receive through the new Report Receipt of Waste service. The requirement starts in Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1 January 2027.
The important distinction is between the structured data submitted to the Digital Waste Tracking service and the documents and supporting evidence an organisation needs to retain and manage.
Understanding that difference is important when preparing your systems and processes for Digital Waste Tracking.
Digital Waste Tracking Is Based on Structured Data
The Report Receipt of Waste service does not simply ask businesses to upload a PDF or scanned Waste Transfer Note.
Instead, organisations must provide structured information about each applicable receipt of controlled waste. This makes it possible for waste movement information to be recorded consistently and processed digitally.
Defra’s requirements include information covering:
- Waste movement details
- Waste carrier details
- Waste receiver details
- Waste classification codes
- Recovery and disposal codes
- Persistent organic pollutant (POP) information where applicable
- Hazardous waste information where applicable
The exact information required depends on the waste being reported and the circumstances of the movement.
Waste Classification Codes
Waste must be identified using the appropriate waste classification code. These are commonly referred to as List of Waste (LoW) codes or European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes.
Accurate classification is important because it helps identify the type of waste and whether additional information, such as hazardous properties, needs to be recorded.
Recovery and Disposal Information
Receipt records can also require the appropriate recovery or disposal code for the waste.
These codes identify what is intended to happen to the waste, providing structured information about its treatment, recovery or disposal route.
Hazardous Waste Information
Hazardous waste requires additional information.
Where applicable, businesses need to identify hazardous properties and provide information such as the relevant Hazardous Property (HP) codes, chemical or biological components and concentration values for hazardous components.
This makes accurate source information particularly important. The person responsible for reporting needs access to enough information about the waste to complete the required fields correctly.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Data
If waste contains relevant persistent organic pollutants, the Digital Waste Tracking record can require the POP substance name and concentration.
Where required information cannot be provided, the reporting requirements may instead require the organisation to state why it is unavailable.
Do You Still Need Waste Transfer Notes?
Yes, during the initial introduction of Digital Waste Tracking.
Defra’s current guidance states that the existing paper-based waste tracking process will initially continue alongside the new Report Receipt of Waste service.
Where applicable, businesses must therefore continue to complete:
- Waste Transfer Notes
- Hazardous Waste Consignment Notes
- Annex VII forms
This is in addition to reporting the required structured receipt information digitally.
Defra also currently requires relevant waste returns and hazardous waste consignee returns to continue until further notice.
What Other Supporting Documents May Need to Be Managed?
The information submitted to Digital Waste Tracking is only one part of the documentation that may exist around a waste movement or waste operation.
Depending on the organisation and type of waste, supporting records can include:
- Waste Transfer Notes
- Hazardous Waste Consignment Notes
- Weighbridge tickets
- Environmental permits and licences
- Waste carrier documentation
- Waste classification information
- Laboratory or sampling information where applicable
- Photographs
- Transport and shipment documentation
- Contracts and related correspondence
- Emails and other supporting evidence
Not every document on this list is required for every waste movement. The documentation that needs to be retained depends on the waste type, activity, permit conditions and other applicable regulatory requirements.
Why Linking Data and Documents Matters
A Digital Waste Tracking submission creates a structured record of the waste receipt. Operationally, however, organisations may still need to retrieve the evidence behind that record.
For example, a waste receipt may have a Digital Waste Tracking reference while the supporting evidence consists of a Waste Transfer Note, weighbridge ticket, photographs and other documents.
If these are stored separately in email accounts, shared drives, filing cabinets and different software systems, finding the complete history of a waste movement can remain difficult even after the reporting itself becomes digital.
A more structured approach is to keep the waste record and its related evidence connected, so users can move from the reported information to the relevant supporting documents without searching across multiple systems.
Keeping an Audit Trail
Good record keeping is not only about storing the final document.
Organisations may also need to establish who created or reviewed information, when documents were added or changed, which version was current and when actions were completed.
This is where document management controls such as audit trails, version history, permissions and workflows can complement the structured information submitted to Digital Waste Tracking.
What Happens if the Digital Service Is Unavailable?
Record keeping is also important when a submission cannot be made because of an outage.
Defra’s guidance for England and Wales requires organisations affected by an outage to make and retain a written record of the required receipt information within the normal two-working-day period. The information must then be transferred to the service within the specified period after the outage is resolved.
This is another reason to have a defined process for capturing waste receipt information independently of the final submission step.
How Long Should Waste Documents Be Kept?
There is no single retention period that can safely be applied to every document associated with Digital Waste Tracking.
Retention requirements can depend on the type of waste, document, permit and regulatory obligation. Organisations should therefore identify the applicable retention requirement for each class of record rather than applying one general deletion date to all waste documentation.
A document management system can help by applying retention rules to different document categories and maintaining an auditable record of how information is managed.
How Folderit Can Help Manage Digital Waste Tracking Records
Folderit can be used to keep structured waste records and their supporting documents together in one controlled environment.
Waste organisations can use Folderit for:
- Structured waste records using eForms
- Waste Transfer Notes and consignment notes
- Weighbridge tickets and scanned paperwork
- Permits, licences and other compliance documents
- OCR and document search
- Metadata and document classification
- Approval and acknowledgement workflows
- Access permissions
- Version history and audit trails
- Retention management
Folderit is also preparing support for the Defra Receipt of Waste API. The planned integration will allow authorised users to submit structured Receipt of Waste information and retain the returned Waste Tracking ID and validation information with the corresponding Folderit record.
Direct submission through Folderit is currently in development and Folderit is not yet listed by Defra as a compatible software provider.
Learn more about Folderit for UK Digital Waste Tracking and see how the proposed process works.
Prepare Your Records Before Digital Waste Tracking Becomes Mandatory
Preparing for Digital Waste Tracking should involve more than choosing how data will be submitted to Defra.
Waste organisations should review where the required information originates, how supporting documents are stored, how records can be connected to their evidence and who is responsible for checking that information is complete.
For organisations still relying heavily on paper records, shared drives or disconnected systems, the move to Digital Waste Tracking is also an opportunity to improve the wider document management process around waste operations.
