How to fill in DEFRA's receipt-of-waste spreadsheet

You must start from DEFRA's template — custom workbooks fail validation. Get the latest version from gov.uk.

We host a mirror of the version DEFRA published most recently: receipt-of-waste-template.xlsx. If gov.uk has a newer file, prefer that — DEFRA can update the template at any time.

Open the file and look at the first two tabs. They're the only ones that explain why each column exists. Skim them once; you'll come back to the data-definitions tab whenever a column name is ambiguous.

The next four tabs are reference data: EWC codes, disposal/recovery codes, POP names, and hazardous property codes. You don't fill these in — they're lookup tables you read from. Bookmark our EWC search if you find DEFRA's flat list painful to scroll.

Tab 7 — Waste movement level — gets one row per receipt. Each row captures everything about the movement itself: when the waste arrived, where it came from, who carried it, and who received it.

Mandatory columns include the site name, address, postcode, the receiver's authorisation number, the date and time received (in dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm format, London timezone), the carrier's registration number and organisation name, and the means of transport.

Your unique reference is the link between this row and the item-level rows you'll fill in next. Use a weighbridge ticket number or your own internal reference — anything that's unique per movement.

Tab 8 — Waste item level — captures the composition of each load. One movement can have many item-level rows (one per EWC code, for example).

For every item you must record the EWC code, a free-text description, the physical form (gas/liquid/solid/powder/sludge/mixed), the number and type of containers, the weight (with unit and an estimated-yes/no flag), and whether the waste is hazardous and/or contains POPs.

Every EWC code must map to at least one disposal or recovery code (D/R) with its own weight. If the load goes to a single treatment route, that's one D or R row. If it splits — for example, R5 for the recyclable fraction and D1 for residuals — record each route with its weight.

The errors we see most often:

• Missing D/R for an EWC code. Every waste item needs a treatment route.
• Wrong physical form value. Use the exact dropdown values — gas, liquid, solid, powder, sludge, mixed. Anything else fails.
• Postcode formatting. UK postcodes only, with a space (e.g. SW1A 1AA).
• Hazardous=Yes without an HP code. If you tick hazardous, you must list the hazardous property codes that apply.
• POPs=Yes without name & concentration. Same pattern: flagging POPs requires the substance name and concentration value.
• Custom columns. Don't add helper columns, don't reorder anything, don't rename tabs.

Sign in to DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking service using your organisation's Government Gateway account. Upload the workbook; the service will tell you whether the submission passed or which rows failed.

If anything bounces, fix it in your workbook and re-upload — the deadline clock keeps running until you have a clean submission.