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Waste crime costs the UK an estimated £1 billion every year. That’s roughly the cost of building two new hospitals, swallowed by flytipping, illegal dumping and dodgy paperwork. From 1st October 2026, a new government system called DWTS (Digital Waste Tracking System) comes into force to try and put a dent in that number.
So what is DWTS?
DWTS stands for Digital Waste Tracking System. It’s a new online system run by Defra, the government department in charge of the environment. It records waste from the moment it’s collected to the moment it’s disposed of or recycled.
Right now, most of that trail is on paper. Waste transfer notes get filled in, filed away, and rarely looked at again unless something goes wrong. DWTS replaces that with a digital record that regulators can check easily.
From 1st October 2026, it will become mandatory for waste sites in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, with Scotland following in January 2027.
Why this is happening
DWTS is part of the Government’s wider Waste Crime Action Plan, aimed at making it harder for illegal operators to hide in plain sight. You don’t have to look far to see why.
In February 2026, three people were arrested after 1,200 tonnes of waste was dumped and buried on farmland near Stockton, Norfolk, a mile from the Broads. The landowner had left the site unattended for two weeks and came back to find it filled with household and commercial waste, some of it traced back to letters addressed to residents over 100 miles away. He faced a clean-up bill that reached nearly £500,000 and left him ‘essentially bankrupt’.
The residents whose waste ended up there had done nothing wrong. They’d put their rubbish in council recycling bins – but somewhere between the bin and the disposal site, the trail had gone dark, and nobody could exactly say where or how.
This new system is looking to close that gap. Every waste load will need to be logged, timestamped, and matched against a licensed facility, so waste can’t quietly disappear between collection and disposal.
DWTS means additional admin on every job and tighter reporting windows, on top of the paperwork already in place. This will be a real adjustment for businesses that are used to the old ways of doing things. But, it’s also a fairer playing field. The carriers doing things properly now have a system that proves it, and transparency of others in the chain.
Who does it apply to?
DWTS applies to operators of sites that carry a waste licence, and receive, dispose of, or triage waste. This means all licensed skip hire companies will need to follow this new system.
This also includes permitted waste transfer stations, treatment facilities, and household waste recycling centres, such as council run tidy tips.
It doesn’t apply to households or businesses directly. The tracking happens behind the scenes at the point where waste is received, not at the point where it’s collected from you.
Companies who just transport waste, such as carriers, brokers and dealers, aren’t required to follow this system yet. That’s Phase 2, expected from October 2027.
What gets logged
Once a site takes waste, here’s what needs to go into the system:
- Who the operator is, and which permitted facility received the waste
- How the waste got there, including the mode of transport and who was involved in moving it, whether that’s a carrier, broker or dealer.
- What the waste is
- Whether it has any hazardous properties
All of this needs to be entered by the second working day after the waste is received. This doesn’t change what you’re allowed to put in a skip, or how you book one. It’s simply what happens to that information once your waste arrives at the other end.
What this means if you’re hiring a skip at home
Practically speaking, nothing changes about how you book or use a skip. What DWTS changes is one happens once that skip leaves your driveway.
Before now, a carrier’s paperwork could say almost anything, and there was no easy way for you to check it against what happened. That’s part of why, when rubbish ended up somewhere it shouldn’t, it was so hard to trace back or work out who was responsible.
The new system won’t stop waste crime overnight, but it does mean licensed carriers now have to account for where all their waste goes, and can’t cut corners on paperwork. You might not think about DWTS day to day, but it’s still a reason to care about who you’re hiring. A skip hire company with a genuine licence should have no issue showing their credentials, or telling you exactly where your waste will end up.
If you’re ever unsure whether a company is licensed, you can check the Environment Agency’s public register before you book. (We have a licence under our sister company, Gamble Plant, if you were wondering…)
What it means for commercial customers
DWTS carries a bit more weight for businesses.
You’re likely already keeping waste transfer notes for your own records, and that requirement doesn’t change. DWTS runs alongside it, giving you a second, digital layer of proof about where your waste has ended up, and how it got there. If you’re ever asked to demonstrate your due diligence for an audit, insurer or a client, that’s now backed by a system that a carrier can’t fake.
It’s worth asking your current carrier a few straightforward questions – are they registered for DWTS, do they know their obligations, and can they tell you what happens to your waste once they take it away? If the answers are vague, that’s worth paying attention to.
Where we fit into all this
None of this changes how we deliver our services. We’ve always worked as a licensed carrier, and DWTS just means that’s now backed up by a digital record rather than a filing cabinet.
We’ve always handled waste responsibly, and the extra reporting from DWTS is simply a way to prove what we’re doing.
If you’ve got any questions about the change, or want to check our credentials before booking, just give us a call on 01328 862659.
