Who must report waste receipts to DEFRA?
DEFRA's new Digital Waste Tracking service applies to anyone running a UK site that legally accepts waste. The list of who's in scope is wide; the list of who's explicitly out is short.
You're in scope if you…
- Operate at least one licensed or permitted site in the UK that receives waste. This includes Environment Agency / SEPA / NRW / NIEA permits, registered exemptions, and authorised treatment facilities.
- Are a waste transfer station, materials recovery facility, treatment plant, recycler, incinerator, landfill, energy-from-waste plant, scrap metal facility, anaerobic digester, or any other site listed on a UK environmental permit covering waste receipt.
- Act as a consultant or representative reporting on behalf of one or more waste-receiving organisations.
If your only role is to produce, carry, or broker waste — and you don't receive it at a permitted site — the receipt-of-waste service does not apply to you (yet). Phase Two of the rollout in October 2027 extends the digital mandate to carriers, brokers, dealers and exporters.
Reporting on someone else's behalf
Consultants, agents and parent companies can register and submit on behalf of a waste-receiving organisation. Each organisation you report for needs its own 6-digit API code (or its own spreadsheet submission) — you cannot combine multiple organisations into one workbook or one API connection.
Use organisational Gateway accounts
Sign into DEFRA's service using your organisation's Government Gateway account. Personal accounts are explicitly disallowed and will fail validation.