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All guides · by ScrapLog · sources checked 15 October 2026 · Sources

Digital Waste Tracking from 1 October 2026: what a scrap yard has to do.

Who needs to report, what to enter and how to send it. This guide covers permitted scrap yards in England and Wales, with links to the official guidance.

Who needs to report

If your site is permitted or licensed to receive controlled waste in England or Wales, you must use Defra’s Report receipt of waste service from 1 October 2026. Controlled waste includes most household, commercial and industrial waste. The requirement starts in January 2027 in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sites operating under a registered waste exemption are outside this first phase. Defra says they will be included in a later phase; its current policy gives no date for that. A scrap metal dealer’s licence and an environmental permit are different documents — check your site’s environmental authorisation.

Check whether you need to report on GOV.UK. The guidance also covers household waste recycling centres and arrangements for people who qualify as digitally excluded.

T9 exemption: due to be removed in April 2027

If your yard works under a T9 exemption (recovering scrap metal) in England, that is due to change. GOV.UK says that, if Parliament approves the new rules, T9 will be withdrawn on 6 April 2027. You will need to apply for an environmental permit before then. If you apply in time, you can keep working under your exemption while the permit is processed. Once your site holds a permit, the waste it receives must be reported through Digital Waste Tracking. Read the new exemption rules on GOV.UK.

What you enter, and by when

Report each load of controlled waste received. The record includes the receiving site, carrier, receipt date and time, waste description, classification codes and weights. Hazardous waste and waste containing persistent organic pollutants need extra information.

Submit the record and receive its waste tracking reference by the end of the second working day after the waste arrives. Weekends and bank holidays do not count. For example, a Friday load is due by the end of Tuesday if neither Monday nor Tuesday is a bank holiday.

A rejected submission needs correcting within that same deadline. If you discover an error in an accepted record later, correct it as soon as possible and within one month of finding it. See the data and correction requirements.

How to register

Create a Defra account through the service, using your organisation’s Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login account. You can create the account there if needed. Do not use a personal Government Gateway account.

Open Report receipt of waste on GOV.UK and use its Start now button.

Two ways to send the records

Defra’s spreadsheet. Download the official template, enter the required information and upload it. Several loads can share one file. Use a fresh file for the next submission, and keep Defra’s format. This route is currently expected to remain available until at least October 2027; Defra keeps that timetable under review.

How to use the spreadsheet.

Connected software. Software can send records directly through Defra’s API — the connection between the two systems. Defra gives each registered organisation an API code. Follow your provider’s setup instructions; in ScrapLog, you enter the code yourself in settings.

You can use both methods. See the GOV.UK list of compatible software providers.

What Defra charges

The service costs £26 a year for each organisation on your account, covering all its waste-receiving sites. The first payment is due by 31 January 2027. Registering later in the year does not reduce the charge. This is paid to Defra whether you use a spreadsheet or software.

Which paperwork continues

Continue using waste transfer notes, hazardous-waste consignment notes and Annex VII forms where required. Permit waste returns and hazardous-waste consignee returns also continue. Digital Waste Tracking does not yet replace them.

If an outage stops you reporting

Keep a written record within the normal reporting deadline. Tell your regulator as soon as you can, unless you have already been told the service is unavailable. The records must be entered after the outage ends. The English regulations give seven days from the following day; GOV.UK guidance says seven working days. These sources differ, so confirm the catch-up deadline with your regulator promptly. Read the outage guidance.

Who to ask

For access or technical problems, Defra’s helpdesk is 03000 203 781, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, except public holidays.

Questions about your reporting duties go to the Environment Agency in England or Natural Resources Wales in Wales. The official guidance also explains enforcement and penalties.

Where ScrapLog comes in

ScrapLog is on the GOV.UK list of compatible software providers as ECET Solutions Limited — ScrapLog. Set the site as permitted and save its details and your Defra API code before the first load. ScrapLog then prepares waste records from the loads entered at the gate.

With the usual setting, completing the load makes its record ready to send. The Defra page in ScrapLog shows accepted records and anything needing attention. Waiting to send does not mean accepted. Loads recorded before Defra setup are not added automatically. Nothing is sent for a site set as exempt.

£200 a month per site and £300 once to set the yard up. Defra’s £26 organisation charge is separate.

How ScrapLog handles waste tracking · What it costs

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Sources

Checked on 15 October 2026. Follow the linked official guidance for updates and questions about your own site.