Waste & compliance glossary

The movement document that must travel with lower-risk 'green-list' waste exported for recovery under Article 18 of the international waste-shipment rules. DEFRA plans to fold these exports into Digital Waste Tracking in a later phase.

The identifier DEFRA issues to an operator's organisation so its software can connect to the Digital Waste Tracking service. Each business holds its own; the credentials that authenticate the software vendor are held separately.

A person who arranges for other people's waste to be recovered or disposed of without ever taking physical possession of it. Brokers must register with the regulator and are in scope for Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027.

The reference issued when a business registers as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency (or SEPA, NRW or DAERA). It must appear on a movement record — or, if it is missing, an accepted reason must be given, or the digital submission is rejected.

Waste produced by a business's premises or activities. Collecting it obliges the carrier to raise a Waste Transfer Note and, from October 2027, a digital record.

The deadline by which a waste movement must be recorded on the digital service. For receiving sites it is two working days from the day after the waste arrives; carriers will have their own Phase 2 window.

A field you may leave blank only if you record an accepted reason for its absence. The carrier registration number and the hazardous consignment note code both work this way — supply the value or a justified reason, or the submission is rejected.

The site or business that receives a hazardous-waste load. Consignees must send periodic returns to the regulator listing what they accepted.

The quarterly return a hazardous-waste receiving site sends the regulator summarising the consignments it accepted. It continues alongside Digital Waste Tracking during the transition.

The producer or holder who hands hazardous waste to a carrier — the hazardous-waste equivalent of the 'transferor' on a standard Waste Transfer Note.

Waste from building, renovation and demolition — rubble, timber, plasterboard and metals. A major stream for many carriers, where inert loads and hazardous items such as asbestos can sit side by side.

The kind of receptacle a load travels in — skip, bags, bulk/loose or drums. A required field on every digital movement record.

Household, industrial and commercial waste — the categories the waste-tracking regime applies to. Nearly every load a carrier moves is controlled waste, and there is no minimum weight threshold.

A person who buys and sells waste, taking legal control of it without necessarily handling it. Like brokers, dealers must register and are in scope for Digital Waste Tracking Phase 2.

The UK government department that owns the Digital Waste Tracking programme and publishes the API that operators' software connects to.

Northern Ireland's environmental regulator — the counterpart to the Environment Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales.

DEFRA's mandatory national digital record for every controlled-waste movement, delivered through the Waste Tracking Service and replacing paper Waste Transfer Notes and hazardous consignment notes. Receiving sites are mandated from October 2026 and waste carriers from October 2027.

One of the D1–D15 codes describing a disposal operation, such as D15 (storage pending disposal). Every movement records the intended disposal or recovery route for the waste.

The transition period in which Digital Waste Tracking is live but the older paper duty-of-care records, Waste Data Flow and consignee returns still apply — so the same data is captured twice. Recording it once and satisfying every obligation is what good software removes.

The legal obligation, under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to ensure waste is stored, transferred and disposed of correctly and accompanied by a transfer note kept for at least two years. It is the foundation of the Waste Transfer Note.

The Act whose section 58 gives ministers the power to make waste tracking digital and mandatory, and which enables the civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance.

The environmental regulator for England — it registers waste carriers, issues permits and enforces the duty of care. SEPA, Natural Resources Wales and DAERA are its counterparts in the other three nations.

The authorisation a site needs to accept, store, treat or dispose of waste. Its permit number identifies the receiving site on a movement record.

The Act that created the modern duty of care for waste in England and Wales and the requirement to retain Waste Transfer Notes for at least two years.

A six-digit code from the List of Wastes (formerly the European Waste Catalogue) that classifies a type of waste; an asterisk marks it as hazardous. One or more must be recorded on every movement.

The illegal dumping of waste on land without a permit. Closing the loopholes that enable fly-tipping and other waste crime — estimated to cost the UK around £1 billion a year — is the stated purpose of Digital Waste Tracking.

Biodegradable waste from gardens and landscaping — grass, hedge cuttings, leaves and soil. Kept separate for composting; this is the correct UK term for what is sometimes called 'yard waste'.

Waste whose properties make it harmful to people or the environment, flagged by an asterisked EWC code and one or more HP codes. It carries extra duties: a consignment note and consignee returns.

The record that must accompany a hazardous-waste movement — richer than a standard Waste Transfer Note. Digital Waste Tracking is designed to replace it; omitting its code without an accepted reason causes a submission to be rejected.

A local 'tip'. In England, HWRCs that take commercial waste count as receiving sites and were in the first wave mandated onto Digital Waste Tracking from October 2026. DEFRA has said the same will follow in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland later, and has not given a date.

One of the fifteen hazardous-property codes (HP1–HP15) — for example HP7, carcinogenic — that describe why a waste is hazardous. Recorded on the movement whenever the waste is hazardous.

Waste that neither reacts chemically nor breaks down — concrete, brick and hard core. Being low-risk, some handling of it can run under a waste exemption rather than a full permit.

The official UK catalogue of waste classifications and the source of every EWC code. 'List of Wastes' is the current UK name for what used to be the European Waste Catalogue.

Waste collected by or on behalf of local authorities — mainly household waste plus similar waste from businesses. It is controlled waste and in scope for waste tracking like any other.

The environmental regulator for Wales — the counterpart to the Environment Agency, SEPA and DAERA.

Controlled waste without hazardous properties — the bulk of most carriers' loads. It still needs a Waste Transfer Note and, from October 2027, a digital record.

Toxic chemicals such as the flame retardants in old upholstered furniture that don't break down. Waste containing them can't be landfilled or reused and must be flagged on the movement, with each component and its concentration recorded.

The state the waste is in — solid, liquid, sludge, powder or mixed. A required field on every movement record.

The business or household whose activity creates the waste — the origin of the chain. The producer's name, address and (for a business) SIC code are recorded on the movement.

The scenarios a software vendor must pass against DEFRA's test environment before it can connect customers to the live Digital Waste Tracking service. Passing the PAT is the gate to going live.

A permitted site that accepts waste — a transfer station, treatment or disposal site, or an HWRC taking commercial waste. Receiving sites were the first operators mandated onto Digital Waste Tracking, from October 2026.

One of the R1–R13 codes describing a recovery operation, such as R3 (recycling) or R13 (storage pending recovery). Recorded as the intended route for the waste.

Scotland's environmental regulator. Scottish receiving sites join Digital Waste Tracking from January 2027, three months after the other nations.

A Standard Industrial Classification code describing a business's activity. The producer's SIC code is one of the origin fields recorded on a waste movement.

A permitted site where collected waste is bulked up and sorted before onward transport to recycling, recovery or disposal — a common place for carriers to tip their loads.

On a Waste Transfer Note the transferor hands over the waste and the transferee receives it; both must sign. For hazardous waste the equivalents are the consignor and consignee.

The two levels of waste carrier registration. Lower Tier is free and for businesses carrying only their own or certain low-risk waste; Upper Tier is required — and renewable every three years — for anyone carrying others' controlled waste for profit.

A civil fine a regulator can impose for a waste offence. Under the Environment Act 2021 these have no fixed cap and can be scaled to the offender's turnover.

The Environment Agency registration a business must hold to transport controlled waste for profit. The Upper Tier — for carriers, brokers and dealers of others' waste — renews every three years; letting it lapse makes every collection a criminal offence.

The separate national system through which local authorities report waste and recycling data. It sits outside Digital Waste Tracking, so reporting to it continues during the transition.

Anything with a plug or a battery at end of life. It must be handled separately under the WEEE Regulations, and older items can contain POPs and hazardous components.

A registered activity that lets a business handle limited amounts of specific low-risk waste without a full environmental permit. Exemption holders are being brought into Digital Waste Tracking in Phase 2.

The legal ranking of what to do with waste — prevention first, then reuse, recycling, other recovery, and disposal as the last resort. Businesses must apply it and confirm they have on their transfer paperwork.

The unique movement reference the Digital Waste Tracking service returns when a movement is submitted — the spine of the record. It is stored against the carrier's own job and Waste Transfer Note reference.

The duty-of-care document that must accompany every transfer of non-hazardous controlled waste, describing the waste and identifying the parties. It must be kept for at least two years and is the paper record Digital Waste Tracking replaces.

Calibrated vehicle scales at a waste site that weigh a load in and out. The reading gives the actual tonnage that replaces the carrier's estimated weight on the movement record.