Digital Waste Tracking is Coming - Is Your Waste Information Ready?

Accurate information at the point of booking and collection will become increasingly important. To support compliance, Enva may contact you to verify or update account, site, carrier or waste information before or after a movement.

1. Review your account details
   Ensure your legal entity, site and account information is up to date.
2. Check carrier information
   Confirm that any waste carrier licence details provided to Enva remain valid.
3. Describe waste accurately
   Use the correct waste description and EWC code. Avoid generic or informal descriptions.
4. Provide complete waste information
   Include hazardous status and physical state where applicable.
5. Brief relevant colleagues
   Ensure anyone arranging collections understands the importance of accurate data.
6. Respond promptly
   Help us resolve any missing or inconsistent information quickly.

Enva is enhancing data quality, developing system integrations and reviewing operational processes to support Digital Waste Tracking requirements. We are also developing guidance and support materials to help customers prepare for the transition.

Important: The waste producer's duty of care remains unchanged. Customers remain responsible for ensuring the information provided about their waste is accurate.

Not necessarily. Digital Waste Tracking is being introduced in phases, and existing duty-of-care and hazardous-waste documentation requirements continue to apply unless and until the relevant legal or regulatory requirements change. Enva will continue to provide appropriate compliance records for the services delivered.

Digital Waste Tracking complements the UK's Simpler Recycling reforms. While Simpler Recycling is focused on increasing the separate collection of recyclable materials, Digital Waste Tracking is designed to provide a transparent, digital record of their journey through the waste management chain. Together, these initiatives will help improve accountability, support resource recovery and provide greater visibility of how waste is managed once it leaves a site.

Registration and reporting responsibilities depend on your role in a waste movement. If you receive waste, operate as a carrier, broker or dealer, or manage movements outside Enva’s service, you should review the official government guidance for your own obligations.

UK Government: Digital Waste Tracking service guidance

DEFRA technical service information and process diagrams

The legislation primarily changes how movement information is captured and reported. Enva may ask for additional confirmation or correct missing information so that the record is accurate.

It becomes mandatory for permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales on 1 October 2026, and in Scotland and Northern Ireland on 1 January 2027.

Phase 1 applies to organisations that are licensed or permitted to receive controlled waste.

In England and Wales, waste receipts must be submitted within two working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays, starting on the day after receipt.

Most commercial waste is controlled waste, and the system applies to controlled waste received at affected permitted or licensed sites.

The Government says it will help close information gaps, improve regulatory oversight, tackle waste crime and support the UK’s transition towards a circular economy.

No. Enva’s internal guidance describes the service as covering controlled and extractive waste, including household, commercial and industrial waste. The first reporting phase is focused on receipts of waste.

Enva is preparing its operational systems to submit the information required for relevant receipts of waste. The exact process depends on the Enva business, site and system involved.

Missing or inconsistent details can prevent an accurate digital record. Enva may contact you to confirm the waste description, EWC code, hazardous status, container type, carrier details or other account information.

Enva provides digital access to relevant waste records and reporting through its established customer reporting arrangements, including MyEnva, where applicable.

For the latest statutory guidance and service updates, consult the UK Government’s Digital Waste Tracking publications and service pages:

UK Government: Digital Waste Tracking service guidance

Defra technical service information and process diagrams