Digital waste tracking for carriers
Digital waste tracking is going live in phases, and carriers are in the second one. What it means for carriers, the timeline, and how to be ready before it is required.
Digital waste tracking is the new DEFRA system that records every waste movement online, in real time. It is going live in stages, and carriers are not in the first one. Here is what it means for you, and how to be ready.
Carriers come in the second phase
The first phase is for waste receiving sites, the permitted places that take waste in, such as recycling centres, transfer stations and treatment sites. They must use the service from October 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and from January 2027 in Scotland. Carriers, brokers and dealers come in the next phase, which the government is aiming to make mandatory around October 2027.
What carriers will have to do
When your phase lands, you record every load digitally and send it to DEFRA as you move it. In time that is set to replace new paper consignment notes and the quarterly consignee returns, but for now you still complete and keep your notes alongside the service. You can read the full picture in our digital waste tracking guide.
How to get ahead now
You do not have to wait for 2027. The carriers who will find the switch easiest are the ones already making their consignment notes digital, because the data DEFRA wants is the data they already capture. Going digital now means that when tracking becomes mandatory, you are not starting from paper. More on the rollout in our news piece, digital waste tracking is live.