UK waste compliance, told straight
Writing on the rules that bind UK waste businesses: who each one applies to and when it bites, with every legal claim verified against the legislation itself, linked so you can check it too.
Access the ‘Report receipt of waste’ service, and find information about digital waste tracking for licensed and permitted sites that handle controlled waste.
Digital waste tracking has applied to permitted sites in England and Wales since 1 October 2026. What the duty is in plain words, what still continues alongside it, who it does not reach, and what to do if your site has not started.
Before you hand waste to a carrier you are expected to check that they are registered. Where the register is for each UK nation, what to type in, what a result shows, and why a number alone is not a check. Read from the regulators' own pages.
A waste transfer note can already be electronic, and has been able to for years. What is not here yet is a duty on carriers to send anything to DEFRA. Which is law, which is a stated intention, and what to do in the meantime, checked against the made regulations and GOV.UK.
GOV.UK's readiness page, updated 25 September, says which permitted sites in England and Wales must report every load they receive, who is out, what the digitally excluded route involves, and the two working day clock with its own worked example. Checked against the page and the made regulations.
What the first day of digital waste tracking changed for permitted receiving sites in England and Wales, who the duty binds, who it does not, and when each date is law rather than intention. Checked against the made regulations.
Being on the GOV.UK provider list says a product is connected to DEFRA. It says nothing about how your records are protected. What DutyOS Ltd holds and where to verify it, where your records live, what happens to a record after it is filed, and the one question to put to any provider.
On 8 September 2026 DEFRA added DutyOS to the GOV.UK list of software providers for the report receipt of waste service. Here is what the list means in DEFRA’s own words, what it does not mean, and what a permitted site should do with three weeks to the deadline.
Most of the wrong dates circulating about digital waste tracking come from one confusion: treating a stated intention as though it were law. Three states, one free government website, and about two minutes per claim, including how to check the claims on this site.
England is replacing waste carrier, broker and dealer registration with environmental permits. The law was made on 22 July 2026 and the page you register on still does not mention it. Registration does not end for everyone on the same day: for most carriers the deadline is the day after their current registration was due to expire.
The first phase of Digital Waste Tracking binds receiving sites in England and Wales. Carriers have no legislated date yet, but from day one, someone else files a digital record about every load you deliver. Getting that wrong in either direction is the expensive mistake.
More is coming. If there is a rule you want told straight, email support@dutyos.co.uk.