The waste industry is about to enter a new era of digital reporting.
From 1 October 2026, permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales will be required to report the waste they receive digitally using DEFRA’s new Report Receipt of Waste service. Scotland and Northern Ireland will follow from 1 January 2027, according to GOV.UK guidance on digital waste tracking.
For businesses that have traditionally relied on paperwork, spreadsheets and separate systems to record waste movements, this represents a significant change.
But it doesn’t have to be a difficult one.
What is DEFRA changing?
DEFRA is introducing digital waste tracking to create a clearer picture of waste movements.
Currently, information about waste can be spread across waste transfer notes, hazardous waste consignment notes, spreadsheets and different software systems.
The new system is designed to bring more of this information together digitally.
For waste receiving sites, that means recording details of every load of controlled waste received and submitting the required information within the specified timeframe. DEFRA’s current guidance says records for waste received in England and Wales must be submitted within two working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays.
What information will need to be recorded?
The information required can include details such as:
- When the waste was received
- The carrier
- Vehicle registration
- Waste description
- EWC code
- Weight
- Container information
- Whether the waste is hazardous
- Hazardous property information
- POPs information, where applicable
- Disposal or recovery information
- Receiver details
For many businesses, much of this information is already being captured somewhere.
The challenge is making sure it is captured accurately and can then be reported digitally.
Why is DEFRA introducing this?
DEFRA says digital waste tracking is intended to improve transparency and accountability across the waste industry and help tackle waste crime. It is also intended to improve the quality and availability of waste data.
Importantly, DEFRA recognises that manually entering all this information into a separate system could create a significant administrative burden.
Its preferred approach is therefore to enable businesses to connect their existing software directly to the DEFRA service using an API, as set out in the Digital waste tracking service guidance.
What does this mean for waste businesses?
The key message is simple:
Don’t wait until October to start thinking about it.
The deadline is the point at which digital reporting becomes mandatory. It shouldn’t be the point at which businesses start considering how they are going to capture and manage the information.
The businesses that prepare now will have time to understand what information they already hold, identify any gaps and decide how they want to manage digital reporting.
Where does Okappy fit in?
At Okappy, we’re already working with DEFRA to ensure reporting can become part of the normal workflow rather than another standalone administrative task. We’ll integrate with their planned API so waste receipt information can be captured through Okappy and submitted digitally at the touch of a button.
In the next blog, we’ll look at what the changes actually mean for waste and drainage businesses on a day-to-day basis. In the meantime, why not book a demo of Okappy’s unique platform to see how it could save you time, money and prepare you for Defra’s Digital Waste tracking.
