STORY
The Government has launched a new digital tracking service requiring more than 12,000 permitted waste sites across England to report every load of waste they receive. The information must be submitted in near real time and include details of the waste carrier and the classification of the material being delivered.
The Environment Agency will use the resulting digital audit trail to compare reported waste collections with receipts at authorised sites. Officials said discrepancies could help investigators identify illegal dumping, the mislabelling of waste and material being handled unlawfully. The service is intended to make it more difficult for criminal operators to conceal their activities using false or incomplete paperwork.
The system represents the first stage of the Government’s wider Digital Waste Tracking service, with its use due to be extended to waste collectors from spring 2027. A Waste Crime Crackdown Group, chaired by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, has also been established to bring regulators and law enforcement agencies together.