Digital Waste Tracking in the UK

Mandatory digital waste tracking, published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government, is an initiative to improve monitoring and reporting of waste production, processing and disposal. The GOV.UK page about the initiative was last updated in October 2023.

The goal is to create a unified transparent digital system to reduce illegal waste disposal and improve visibility on the amount and type of waste being produced and where it ends up. The system will track the journey of waste from the point of origin to its final destination, supporting the effective regulation of waste.

The digital waste tracking service is being developed in line with the Service Standard for digital services including the UK government's guidance on using open standards. It plans to use tools and infrastructure that are flexible, scalable, sustainable and secure.

According to GOV.UK, while voluntary adoption is being encouraged, it was envisaged that all businesses will be required to use this system by April 2025. Given its broad coverage, the new rules are likely to affect many industries, from waste management through to construction, manufacturing, healthcare and retail, to name just a few.

Digital waste tracking has a number of key objectives, including:

1) Reducing illegal waste activities

Digital tracking makes it easier to monitor the movement of waste, reducing fly-tipping, mishandling of waste and illegal disposal.

2) Improving transparency

A centralised tracking system provides more accurate data, ensuring that businesses comply with environmental regulations and report on their waste correctly and in a timely way.

3) Supporting sustainability efforts

By tracking waste more efficiently, the system helps businesses reduce waste and improve recycling efforts, which contributes to the UK's long-term sustainability goals.

4) Increasing corporate accountability

The mandatory system ensures that businesses are held accountable for the waste they produce, creating a fairer and more responsible waste management process across all relevant industries, as well as reducing environmental harm.

The new digital waste tracking system has a wide remit and covers all types of controlled waste and extractive waste, including:

• Commercial waste – everyday waste produced by businesses, such as packaging materials, office waste, mixed recycling, food, glass, and anything else related to commercial waste management.
• Electronic waste (e-waste) – waste such as old, end-of-life and discarded electronic devices, which contribute to environmental pollution if not disposed of properly.
• Hazardous waste – this includes hazardous waste that poses a threat to public health or the environment, such as chemicals, radioactive materials and industrial by-products.
• Construction and demolition waste – materials like ready-mix concrete, bricks, and wood, which are commonly produced during building projects.

From a business perspective, making the shift to digital waste tracking starts by understanding crucial regulatory requirements and ensuring that internal processes are aligned with the new system. Failure to comply risks penalties, fines and reputational damage.

Businesses will need digital waste tracking software that records and monitors all waste activities in real time. This guarantees that waste data is recorded accurately, making it far easier to report for regulatory compliance and internal sustainability efforts - detailed reports on waste management activities will need to be submitted to regulatory authorities.

It’s a good idea to prepare for these changes as soon as possible to ensure full compliance by the time adoption becomes mandatory in April 2025.

The mandatory digital waste tracking initiative from DEFRA has not been updated since October 2023.

There is an expectation that DEFRA may enable mandatory digital waste tracking with waste management software via an API. In this case, the API would allow waste management software, such as Access Weighsoft, to seamlessly pass data to DEFRA.

Government digital services go through a rigorous process before launch. It is expected that DEFRA would work with the waste industry to test any alpha concepts or beta prototypes before launching it to the industry.

Until we see the full scope of the mandatory digital waste tracking initiative, and any associated API documentation and test environment, we cannot comment further.

At present, DEFRA have not provided any timescales for progress on this initiative.

We are committed to fully complying with all legal requirements that arise in the future relating to digital waste returns. Should DEFRA publish their API for the waste industry then we aim to prioritise this integration development.