The pull: it is becoming the rule
The Environment Act 2021 gives the government power to require digital waste tracking. The Environment Agency is building the system now. Going digital is moving from a nice-to-have to a must.
The HWCN01, done in minutes
A hazardous waste consignment note has to travel with every load of hazardous waste in England and Wales. Consigns builds the official HWCN01 from your job data, takes the signatures on site, files to DEFRA, and stores every copy. No carbon pads, no double entry.
- Official HWCN01 form
- Haz. Waste (E&W) Regs 2005
- Files to DEFRA tracking
One note, five parts, three people
The HWCN01 is filled in along the waste's journey. A different person completes each part at a different point. Consigns gathers all five into one record.
- A
Notification details
A description of the waste, its SIC code, the process that made it, and the quantity.
- B
The waste description
The EWC code, the physical form, what the waste is made of, and any hazard codes.
- C
The carrier's certificate
The carrier confirms they took the waste as described, with vehicle, date and time.
- D
The consignee's certificate
The site confirms what arrived, records the quantity, and flags anything that does not match.
- E
Consignee management
What happened to the waste, recovered, disposed of or sent on, with the right code.
Want the detail? See how to fill out a consignment note, part by part, and how to find the right EWC code.
Paper is on the way out
This is not just about saving time any more. The government is making waste tracking digital, and the rules are catching up.
The push: paper hurts
Notes ride around in van cabs, get rained on, and sometimes never reach the office. Details get typed twice. A missing note is a compliance gap, and a slow one is hours lost to filing and chasing copies.
The rules come from the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. Getting a note wrong is a criminal offence, so the record has to be right.
Built around the official form
Consigns swaps the paper pad for a digital one, off the same job, with nothing typed twice.
Build the job once
The office adds the consignor, waste and EWC codes once. Saved customer and waste data fills in most of Parts A and B for you.
Sign on site, build the PDF
The driver collects, the customer signs on screen for Part C, and the full HWCN01 PDF builds itself there and then, not days later.
File to DEFRA, store the copy
The note files to DEFRA digital waste tracking for the loads that need it, and every copy is stored and searchable for the full keeping period.
It works offline. Drivers on rural sites or deep in industrial estates still take signatures and finish collections, and the device syncs once it is back in signal.
The keeping rule, by party
Under the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005, everyone in the chain keeps their copy, but for different lengths of time. Consigns holds them all for the full period, ready for an Environment Agency inspection in seconds.
- 3 yrsProducer keeps their copy
- 12 moCarrier keeps records
- 5 yrsReceiving site keeps the note
Get off the paper pad
Consigns is hazardous waste consignment note software for UK carriers, part of a wider hazardous waste management platform. Jobs, signatures, HWCN01 PDFs, DEFRA filing and safe storage, in one place.
Free for 14 days. Cancel any time before it renews.