Digital waste tracking software: what to look for

Digital waste tracking software replaces the paper waste transfer note with a digital record that goes straight to the government. From October 2026, every permitted waste receiving site in England and Wales has to use it. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow in January 2027.

Operators are being asked to pick software quickly, often with no experience of the Digital Waste Tracking Service. This page sets out what the software actually has to do, the features worth paying attention to, and what it costs.

Why the switch is happening

Section 58 of the Environment Act 2021 gave the government the power to make digital waste tracking mandatory. The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 turned that into law. From the mandate date, a paper waste transfer note is no longer enough for a permitted receiving site. The record has to be created and submitted digitally.

What the software has to do

Whatever software you pick, it has to handle the basics of the Digital Waste Tracking Service:

• Record each load within two working days of it arriving.
• Capture the right data: waste type, EWC code, quantity, vehicle and carrier details.
• Submit the record to DEFRA.
• Keep a copy for your own records and for inspections.

There are two ways to submit to DEFRA: through software that connects to the API, or by uploading a spreadsheet you download from the service. The spreadsheet is a temporary option. For any site handling more than a handful of loads a week, software is the practical route.

The features that actually matter

When you compare software, four things matter more than the rest.

Direct DEFRA API. The software should submit to the Digital Waste Tracking Service itself, not hand you a file to upload manually.

Carrier validation. The carrier registration number is a mandatory field. The software should check it against the relevant public register before the load is accepted, rather than taking the driver's word for it.

EWC code checking. The waste code has to be right. Software that validates the EWC code as you type it catches the mistakes that make a record non-compliant.

Reusable templates. Most receiving sites log the same handful of loads every day. Templates keep the codes, descriptions and carrier details ready, so a new note starts with the common details filled in.

When the volume is the problem

Most receiving sites do not create a handful of notes a week. A transfer station, MRF or skip yard can take in dozens or hundreds of loads a day, and if those loads already exist as weighbridge exports, gatehouse logs or spreadsheets, retyping them is the wrong job for a human.

Software that imports your records in bulk changes the shape of the work: export the day's rows, import them, check the preview, and submit the batch to DEFRA. LoadLog matches your columns and remembers the mapping, so repeat imports take minutes rather than hours.

DEFRA's own spreadsheet upload does not do this. It rejects the whole file if one row fails, needs a separate file for each legal entity, and cannot check carrier registrations or capture signatures. Importing into a tool that handles those checks is usually the difference between a spreadsheet and a system.

Digital waste tracking vs waste transfer note software

These are the same thing. A waste transfer note, or WTN, is the legal record that travels with a load of non-hazardous waste. Digital waste tracking software produces that note digitally and submits it to DEFRA. If you search for one, you are looking for the other.

What it costs

There are two costs to plan for. DEFRA charges £26 per year for each organisation on your account, not per site. On top of that, software starts at around £12 a month, with a free tier for very low volumes. LoadLog's Compliance Lite plan is £12 a month for unlimited notes.

How to choose

A simple checklist:

• Does it submit to DEFRA directly through the API?
• Does it check carrier registrations?
• Does it validate EWC codes?
• Does it capture digital signatures?
• Is there a free tier I can use first?

If a product cannot answer yes to the first two, it will not hold up at a busy yard.

LoadLog connects directly to the DEFRA API and checks carriers and EWC codes as you record a load. Start on the free plan, and move to Compliance Lite at £12 a month when you need unlimited notes.