What Is the DEFRA Digital Waste Tracking Mandate?

DEFRA is requiring all businesses that handle controlled waste to record waste movements digitally rather than on paper. The rollout is in two phases with different mandatory deadlines, affecting different parts of the waste industry.

Two phases, two deadlines

Phase 1 — October 2026: Waste receiving sites (facilities with permits or licences to accept waste) must submit digital records of every incoming waste load to DEFRA's Receipt of Waste API. This covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland follows in January 2027.

Phase 2 — October 2027: Waste collectors — carriers, brokers, and dealers — must comply with full digital waste tracking.

What DEFRA's system does

DEFRA has published a Receipt of Waste API for submitting movement records. It accepts structured JSON for every waste load: EWC codes, carrier registration numbers, quantities, container types, and disposal or recovery codes. It validates the format and assigns a waste tracking ID.

That's where its scope ends. The API accepts data — it doesn't verify carriers, classify waste, or generate documents. Software integrating with it needs to produce that structured, validated data upstream.

What this means for software providers

If you build waste management software, you need to integrate with DEFRA's Receipt of Waste API. That requires your system to produce two things in particular: valid EWC codes and confirmed carrier registration numbers for every waste movement. DEFRA's API doesn't do either — they're your responsibility before submission.

Where WasteCheck fits

WasteCheck handles the upstream compliance work. It verifies waste carriers against the Environment Agency register, classifies waste descriptions into EWC codes using AI, and generates structured digital Waste Transfer Notes. The output maps directly to the fields DEFRA's API requires as input.

The integration path becomes: capture the waste movement data, call WasteCheck to classify and verify, then submit the structured result to DEFRA.

DEFRA's own documentation

DEFRA's API specification, data definitions, and developer resources are published at defra.github.io/waste-tracking-service. Software providers can register interest in the private beta through the same site.

Get started with WasteCheck

Sign up at app.wastecheck.co.uk — the free tier (50 calls/month) lets you test the integration before committing. Full documentation at docs.wastecheck.co.uk.