API
Existing waste software sends the record automatically and stores the number that comes back.
Defra’s chosen route, after user research.Software · waste, cited to the regulations
Waste management software: what UK law now asks it to record
Waste management software records the waste a business produces, moves or receives, and since 1 October 2026 every permitted site in England that receives waste must log each load in the government’s digital system.
This page sets out who that duty reaches, what the older duty of care still asks of every business, and how to test a product against both; it names and ranks no product.
What the software does
What does waste management software do? Five records, one load at a time
Waste management software keeps the record of each consignment of waste from the moment it is described to the place it ends up.
Two separate duties decide what that record must hold, and they fall on different businesses.
Every business that produces or handles controlled waste carries the duty of care in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which is a paper-trail duty.
Operators of permitted facilities that receive waste in England now also carry the digital waste tracking duty in SI 2026/729, which is a reporting duty into a government system.
- 1
Describe
List of Wastes code, description, quantity and container for each consignment.
- 2
Transfer
The transfer note or consignment note, with the carrier’s registration and both parties.
- 3
Receive
At a permitted site, the load recorded and sent to the government system.
- 4
Separate
Tonnage by stream, matched to the workplace recycling duty.
- 5
Report
Tonnes by route and site for packaging, procurement and sustainability reports.
Digital waste tracking
Who must track waste digitally, and from when?
The duty reaches the operator of a permitted facility that receives controlled waste, and it applies in England from 1 October 2026 under regulation 1 of the Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026.
For each load the operator must record the specified information and check it has entered the system by the end of the second working day after receipt, under regulation 4.
The fee is £26, payable when the duty first arises and on each anniversary, under regulation 5.
Defra’s policy paper, updated 1 October 2026, gives January 2027 for receiving sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland and plans the duty for waste collectors from October 2027.
Read the timeline and the record
- 28 April 202601
- 24 June 202602
- 1 October 202603
- January 202704
- October 202705
The regulations name the data in Part 2 of Schedule 1, including the transporter’s carrier registration number or the reason there is none, and the consignment note code for hazardous waste.
Household waste deposited by residents at a council’s own site is outside regulation 4, under regulation 4(2).
Digital waste trackingExplore
Digital waste tracking
Wales
Receiving sites from October 2026, per the policy paper.
Connecting software
How does software connect to the government system? By API, with a spreadsheet stopgap
Defra built the service to take data from the software waste businesses already use, through an application programming interface, according to its policy paper.
User research found that manually creating records was time-consuming, and that more waste organisations already used digital systems than Defra had expected.
A spreadsheet route exists for receivers without software, as a temporary solution expected to remain until at least October 2027.
The regulations give the person running the system functions that include “the approval of software”, under regulation 3(3), so the first question for any vendor is whether its connection is approved.
The proof is the record number
The duty to check is met when the operator receives the digital waste record number for the load, under regulation 4(6); a product should store that number against every load.
One load
received
received
Spreadsheet
A temporary route for receivers without waste tracking software.
Expected to stay until at least October 2027.The duty of care
What must every business keep? Transfer records, for two years
Every business that produces, keeps, carries, treats or disposes of controlled waste must take reasonable measures to keep it in authorised hands, under section 34(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
On each transfer it must pass a written description, and regulation 35 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 sets out what that written information must state.
It may be electronic, signed with an electronic signature, under regulation 35(4) and (5).
Both the business transferring the waste and the one receiving it must keep the written information for at least two years and produce it within 7 days of a demand, under regulation 35(6).
Read the caveats
Hazardous waste moves under a consignment note instead, and regulation 35 does not apply where that note is completed, under regulation 35(7).
legislation.gov.uk lists amendments to section 34 by SI 2026/873 that it has not yet applied to the revised text; this page quotes section 34(1) as it currently reads there.
Nothing in SI 2026/729 revokes regulation 35, so a producer’s transfer records continue alongside a receiving site’s digital records.
The written informationExplore
The written information
Code and description
The List of Wastes code and a description of the waste.
The written information
Quantity and container
How much, loose or contained, and the kind of container.
The written information
Time, place, SIC code
When and where it was transferred, and the transferor’s SIC code.
The written information
The parties
Names, addresses, roles and registration or permit numbers, signed.
Your duties
Which duties reach your business? Work it out from your role
The tool beside this sorts the duties by role and nation, and for a receiving site in England it works out the deadline for a load from the date it arrived.
A business producing waste is under the duty of care; a permitted site receiving waste is under both duties.
A waste carrier is under the duty of care now and is planned into digital waste tracking from October 2027.
Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own instruments, which this page does not read.
Your waste-record duties
Duty of care on every transfer
Pass the waste only to an authorised person, with written information carrying the List of Wastes code, quantity and SIC code. Both sides keep it for at least two years; it may be electronic.
Digital waste tracking: in force
Record every load received and check it has entered the government system by the end of the second working day; £26 a year per operator.
A load received on Friday, 6 November 2026 must be in the system by the end of Tuesday, 10 November 2026.
Weekends are skipped; bank holidays are not, so a deadline across one falls a day later than shown.
Nothing is stored or sent.
Separation and packaging
What other waste data do businesses owe? Streams and packaging tonnes
Workplace recycling in England changed on 31 March 2025, and the Defra and Environment Agency guidance describes three streams: dry recyclables, food waste and residual waste.
Micro-firms, with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees, have until 31 March 2027, under regulation 4(1) of SI 2025/140.
A business that supplies packaging may also owe packaging EPR data under SI 2024/1332, filed in the official reporting file, which is the subject of EPR packaging reporting software.
A waste system that already holds tonnes by stream and site can feed both, which is the practical reason to keep these records in one place.
| Duty and status | What it asks | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace recycling (England) · in force; micro-firms from 31 March 2027 | Separate dry recyclables, food waste and residual waste | EPA 1990 s.45A; SI 2025/140 reg 4(1) |
| Packaging EPR · in force | Packaging tonnage data, six-monthly for large producers | SI 2024/1332 regs 24, 35, 36 |
| Digital waste tracking · in force for English receiving sites | Each load received, by the second working day | SI 2026/729 reg 4 |
| Duty of care · in force | Written information on each transfer, kept two years | EPA 1990 s.34; SI 2011/988 reg 35 |
Waste in sustainability reporting
Where does waste appear in reporting? Three places, three different asks
ESRS E5 sub-topics
Inflows, outflows, wasteRevised ESRS, DR (EU) 2026/1563UK SRS S1 scope
All topics, if materialNot climate alone — ¶3PPN 006 Scope 3
5 categoriesIncluding waste generated in operationsUK Circular Economy Act
NoneScotland has asp 13; England has noneThe revised ESRS E5 covers resource inflows, resource outflows related to products and services, and resource outflows related to waste, in the delegated act.
UK SRS S1 asks for information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect a company’s cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital, under ¶3 of the standard.
For listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 that is comply or explain for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, under PS26/19.
A supplier bidding for a central government contract above the PPN 006 threshold reports emissions from waste generated in operations in its Carbon Reduction Plan, under the technical standard; the plan itself is covered on carbon reduction plan software.
Waste in reportsExplore
Waste in reports
ESRS E5
Resource outflows related to waste, for companies in the EU rules.
Waste in reports
UK SRS S1
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities, where material.
Waste in reports
PPN 006
Emissions from waste generated in operations, one of five Scope 3 categories.
The tests before you sign
How do you test a waste product? Eight questions, each tied to a provision
Each question beside this names the provision it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Run them on your own loads and collections, because a demonstration never has a Friday delivery, an outage or a two-year-old transfer note.
The questions test fit to your own duties, not which product is better.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Waste software demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Waste management software, in one sentence
Every load a permitted English site receives must now reach a government system within two working days, and the records behind it must last two years.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| Digital waste tracking is in force for English receiving sites from 1 October 2026 | Confirm your software connects by an approved route and stores each record number |
| Each load has a two-working-day deadline | Make the deadline visible on every load, with outage handling |
| Producers still run on the duty of care | Keep transfer notes, electronic or paper, for at least two years |
| Waste also appears in ESRS E5, UK SRS S1 and PPN 006 | Hold tonnes by stream, route and site so one record feeds every report |
Start with the duty finder to see which records your business owes, then take the demo questions to any vendor.
Frequently asked
Waste management software, answered
What is waste management software?
Software that records the waste a business produces, moves or receives: what it is, how much, who took it and where it went.
For a waste site it also sends each load to the government’s digital waste tracking system; for a producer it keeps the transfer records the duty of care requires and the tonnages behind reporting.
Is digital waste tracking mandatory?
For operators of permitted facilities that receive waste in England, yes, since 1 October 2026, under the Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026.
Each load must be recorded and checked into the system by the end of the second working day after receipt.
Defra’s policy paper gives January 2027 for Scotland and Northern Ireland and October 2027 for waste collectors.
Does digital waste tracking apply to businesses that produce waste?
Not in this first phase.
SI 2026/729 places the duty on operators of permitted facilities receiving waste.
A business producing waste remains under the duty of care: it must pass waste only to an authorised person, with written information kept for at least two years.
What is waste tracking software?
The part of a waste management system that follows each movement: the transfer note or consignment note, the carrier, the receiving site and the final route.
Defra designed the government service to take data from waste tracking software through an application programming interface, with a spreadsheet route as a temporary alternative.
Does the government approve waste tracking software?
The Regulations give the designated person running the system functions that include “the approval of software” (SI 2026/729 reg 3(3)).
Ask any vendor whether its connection is approved and how it shows the digital waste record number returned for each load.
How much does digital waste tracking cost?
The government fee is £26, payable when the duty first arises and on each anniversary (SI 2026/729 reg 5).
Software to connect to the service is a separate, commercial cost.
How long must waste transfer notes be kept?
At least two years, by both the business transferring the waste and the business receiving it, and they must be produced to the regulator or a waste collection authority within 7 days of a demand (Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 reg 35(6)).
They may be electronic.
Do small businesses need waste management software?
Often not.
A micro-firm in England, with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees, is exempt from the workplace recycling duties until 31 March 2027, and a handful of collections a year can be recorded without software.
The legal records still have to exist and be kept.
Is there a Circular Economy Act in the UK?
No. Scotland has the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024; there is no UK or England Act.
Waste duties in England come from the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and regulations under it.
Do sustainability reports ask for waste data?
The revised ESRS E5 covers resource outflows related to waste, for companies within the EU rules.
UK SRS S1 asks for information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect a company’s prospects, which can include waste where material.
A PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan includes the emissions from waste generated in operations.
Has this site tested any waste management software?
No. This page is built from the regulations and government guidance cited, and it names no product.
The demo questions are a way to test any product against those provisions on your own data.
Sources
Primary sources
Every duty on this page traces to the instrument or guidance listed here.
Checked against 17 sources fromlegislation.gov.ukDefraDefra and the Environment AgencyEUR-LexDepartment for Business and TradeFinancial Conduct Authority
- legislation.gov.ukThe Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/729
Made 24 June 2026; in force 1 October 2026; the designated person approves software (reg 3(3)).
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/729, regulation 4
Record each load and check it has entered the system by the end of the second working day.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/729, regulation 5
The digital waste tracking fee: £26, then on each anniversary.
- DefraDeveloping the digital waste tracking service (updated 1 October 2026)
API-first design; Scotland and Northern Ireland from January 2027; collectors from October 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironmental Protection Act 1990, section 34
The duty of care on everyone who produces, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste.
- legislation.gov.ukWaste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, regulation 35
What the written information must state; electronic allowed; kept for at least two years.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/140
Micro-firms exempt until 31 March 2027 (reg 4(1)).
- legislation.gov.ukEnvironmental Protection Act 1990, section 45A
The recyclable waste streams and co-collection rules.
- Defra and the Environment AgencySimpler recycling: workplace recycling in England
Workplace recycling changed on 31 March 2025; micro-firms until 31 March 2027.
- legislation.gov.ukProducer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/1332
Packaging EPR tiers and reporting deadlines.
- DefraReport packaging data: create your reporting file
The official RPD file and schema.
- legislation.gov.ukCircular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 (asp 13)
Scotland only; there is no UK or England Circular Economy Act.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, Annex I (revised ESRS)
ESRS E5: resource outflows related to waste.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements (PDF), ¶3
All sustainability-related risks and opportunities, not climate alone.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 — final rules on UK SRS reporting by listed companies
Comply or explain for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 006 technical standard for Carbon Reduction Plans
Five Scope 3 categories, including waste generated in operations.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
The value-chain categories behind waste emissions.
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