DIGITAL WASTE TRACKING
Digital Waste Tracking: what changes, and how Verloop Vision helps
The UK is moving waste movement records from paper to a mandatory digital service led by Defra. Reporting becomes mandatory for permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales from October 2026 and in Scotland and Northern Ireland from January 2027. Carriers, brokers and dealers follow, with the service mandatory for them from October 2027. Verloop Vision is Digital Waste Tracking software built inside a working recovery business, capturing those records at the point of collection rather than re-keying them afterwards.
What Digital Waste Tracking requires
- Permitted and licensed receiving sites report each load received, including its description, quantity and source
- Defra's service is designed to take data automatically through API connections to operators' existing software, with a temporary spreadsheet option expected to remain until at least October 2027
- Carriers, brokers and dealers come into scope next: a public beta from spring 2027, mandatory from October 2027
The cross-border gap
Shipments of waste into, out of or through the EU sit under a separate system, the EU's Digital Waste Shipment System (DIWASS), which has applied since 21 May 2026 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1157. UK tools that connect only to Defra leave that seam uncovered. Verloop runs routes across both regimes and holds the documentation from UK collection to EU destination.
What Verloop Vision does
- Captures material, condition, weight, photographs, GPS and signatures at collection
- Checks a route against agreed criteria before material moves
- Builds evidence packs for auditors, insurers and customers from live records
- Produces operational, sustainability and financial reports from the same data
- Works on its own for sites and carriers running their own movements, or as part of a route run by Verloop
Frequently asked questions
When does Digital Waste Tracking become mandatory in the UK?
UK Digital Waste Tracking becomes mandatory for permitted and licensed waste receiving sites in England and Wales from October 2026 and in Scotland and Northern Ireland from January 2027. It becomes mandatory for carriers, brokers and dealers from October 2027.
Does Digital Waste Tracking apply to by-products as well as waste?
Digital Waste Tracking applies to material classed as waste. Some by-products are classed as waste even when they go on to feed, energy or fertiliser uses, and those movements are in scope. Material that qualifies as a by-product or feed material is not.
Do I need new software for Digital Waste Tracking?
Under Digital Waste Tracking, every receiving site needs a way to submit records digitally. Defra's service is built around API connections to operators' own software, with a temporary spreadsheet option expected until at least October 2027. Verloop Vision captures the data at source so it is ready to submit.
What about shipments to Europe?
Cross-border waste shipments involving EU states go through the EU's DIWASS system, which is separate from the UK service. Verloop manages documentation across both.
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