Waste tonnage returns: what to send, to whom, and by when

A waste tonnage return is the quarterly summary a permitted site sends to its regulator: the tonnage received and removed under the permit, sorted by EWC code. It is separate from digital waste tracking, and English and Welsh sites now file both. The four nations ask for different forms, on different dates, so the form and the deadline both depend on where the site is.

This guide sets out what each regulator wants, the exact windows, and where returns usually go wrong. Every date below is stated on the official page linked beside it.

What a waste tonnage return is

The tonnage return is a condition of your environmental permit. It reports the waste you received and the waste you removed under that permit, by EWC code, and it is used to check compliance with the permit conditions and to compile national statistics.

Since April 2019, a permit that authorises waste activities must also give the details of the site's technically competent manager. That detail belongs in the return, so it is worth checking that the name on the form is still the person in post before the window opens.

Some waste is left out. Do not include waste you have not formally accepted, quarantined waste that has been moved elsewhere, or canteen, office and car park interceptor waste. The Environment Agency publishes the full list of what to include and exclude.

Source: Environment Agency, National operator waste returns.

Who you return to

One row per nation. The form and the address differ, and sending the English form to Scotland or Wales does not count as filing.

Deadlines

England and Wales use a one-month window after each quarter ends. Scotland uses the 28th of the month after the quarter. Northern Ireland gives one month from the quarter ending. Annual permits file in January in England, Wales and Scotland.

A return that arrives after 23:59 on the deadline date is a breach of the permit. The Environment Agency states that in those words, and it is worth reading twice: the deadline is the end of the deadline day, not the start of the next working day.

What actually breaks

The Environment Agency accepts only version 17.0 of the waste tonnage return form, and only as an Excel file. The form must be completed and saved in Microsoft Excel. It will not work correctly in Google Sheets or Apple Numbers, and other file formats are not accepted. Sites that keep their records in Google Sheets therefore have to move the data into Excel before they file, which is where transcription errors start.

The form has to be downloaded, completed and emailed. There is no portal and no upload page, so a return that is saved but never emailed has not been filed.

A nil return is not an empty email. The form generates one when no tonnage was received or removed, and it still has to be submitted. A return is needed for each reporting period unless the permit has been fully surrendered.

The form carries built-in validation, which is a help rather than a nuisance: it checks that the form is complete and consistent before you send it. The step by step instructions sit inside the downloaded form, alongside the accepted file formats and the mandatory field requirements.

Quarterly or annual

The reporting conditions in your permit decide. Most quarterly permits do not also file an annual return, and most annual permits do not file quarterlies. Read the permit rather than copying what a neighbouring site does, because the same regulator issues both.

What digital waste tracking changes

Since 1 October 2026, permitted sites in England and Wales have recorded each load received through the Report receipt of waste service, within two working days of receiving it. That duty sits on top of the tonnage return rather than replacing it. The return is a quarterly summary; digital waste tracking is a per-load record.

Scotland and Northern Ireland join digital waste tracking on 1 January 2027. Until further notice, keep filing the tonnage return and the hazardous waste consignee returns as well. Both sets of records are in scope, and a site that has moved everything to per-load reporting still owes the quarterly summary.

Source for both dates and the two working day window: GOV.UK, digital waste tracking: check if you need to report the waste you receive.

In practice this makes the tonnage return easier, not harder, provided the per-load records are right. Every accepted load already carries its EWC code, weight and date, which is exactly what the quarterly summary asks for.

How to make the return cheaper

• Map your EWC codes once per site, and use the same mapping in the return, the transfer note and the digital receipt. Different spellings of the same code are the most common reason a table has to be rebuilt by hand.
• Reconcile tonnage monthly rather than quarterly. A month is short enough to find the missing docket; a quarter is long enough to give up on it.
• Fill the return from a single export, not from memory or from the weighbridge printout pile. If you would rather the figures were assembled for you, the waste returns helper builds the quarter's tonnage by EWC code from the notes already recorded.
• Check the technically competent manager and the permit number before the window opens, because those two fields reject more returns than the tonnage does.

LoadLog keeps every load with its EWC code and tonnage and exports the quarter in one file. The pricing page sets out what each plan includes, and the digital waste tracking software page covers the per-load side of the duty.

If you also receive hazardous waste, the companion guide covers the other quarterly return: hazardous waste consignee returns. The consignee return glossary entry explains the term in a sentence. Sites that collect as well as receive should look at the free carrier hub, which keeps the permit, driver and vehicle record that the 2027 carrier duties turn on, at no cost on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

When are EA waste returns due?

Quarterly returns are filed in the month after each quarter ends: 1 to 30 April, 1 to 31 July, 1 to 31 October and 1 to 31 January. Annual returns are filed in January.

Can I submit the EA return in Google Sheets?

No. The form must be completed and saved in Microsoft Excel. The Environment Agency states that it will not work correctly in Google Sheets or Apple Numbers, and it does not accept other file formats.

What is a nil return?

A nil return is what the form generates when no tonnage was received or removed in the period. You still file a return for the period unless the permit has been fully surrendered.

Does digital waste tracking replace the tonnage return?

No. The tonnage return continues alongside digital waste tracking for now. The per-load receipt records and the quarterly tonnage summary are separate duties.

Do I need a separate return for each permit?

Yes. A return is needed for each permit unless it has been fully surrendered. In Wales, a permit that covers several waste operations needs more than one return.

Sources checked 29 October 2026: Environment Agency, National operator waste returns; Natural Resources Wales, Submit your waste return; SEPA, Licensed or permitted site return form guidance; DAERA, Waste summary returns form and guidance.