DEFRA Digital Waste Tracking Checklist: 10 Checks for Phase 1 and Phase 2
Preparing a receiving site for January? Use the Scotland guidance and checklist or Northern Ireland guidance and checklist. For reporting-process choices, read spreadsheet versus connected software.
Phase 2 preparation update: PaperRoute’s Phase 2 collection-record preparation explains the destination and waste-origin work now underway, what remains optional and how to review your jobs before the planned collector rollout.
Phase 1 receipt reporting is now mandatory for in-scope receiving sites in England and Wales. A preparation checklist needs to separate those current duties from receiving-site preparation for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the later planned collector phase.
Use these ten checks to review your process. They are practical prompts alongside the official receiving-site guidance, rather than a substitute for checking which rules apply to your operation.
1. Identify every role your business performs
List your receiving sites, collection activities and any brokerage work separately. An organisation can perform more than one role. A receiving-site obligation may already apply even if the collector reporting phase comes later.
Record who owns each workflow and where staff should raise questions about its scope.
2. Check the current timetable for each role and nation
Phase 1 began on 1 October 2026 for in-scope permitted and licensed receiving sites in England and Wales. Receiving sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland follow on 1 January 2027.
The published collector timetable includes public beta planned for spring 2027 and mandatory use planned for October 2027. Treat future dates as plans and check the government rollout timetable for changes.
3. Review actual receipts at the site
Work through a real arriving load. Check how staff record what was received, connect it with the relevant references and identify differences from the expected load.
Compare the information captured with the current requirements for the waste you handle. A booking describes an expectation; the receipt process needs to reflect what arrived.
4. Confirm the reporting route
For eligible receiving sites, the government service supports compatible API software and its template spreadsheet. The right route depends on your operation and the way staff work.
If using software, confirm the configured receiving-site connection and relevant approval scenarios. Do not assume that storing a record means it has been reported.
5. Give review and exception handling an owner
Decide who reviews receipts and checks the submission response. Make sure staff can identify missing information, rejected submissions and records requiring attention.
For in-scope England and Wales receipts, the reporting period is two working days from the day after receipt, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Check the official guidance for submission errors, subsequent corrections and outages; different situations have their own requirements.
6. Keep transfer documentation and receipt reporting clear
Existing required WTNs, hazardous waste consignment notes, Annex VII forms and permit returns continue alongside Phase 1.
A signed WTN PDF is not a submitted DEFRA receipt. Keep both workflows visible in staff instructions and use consistent references so records can be retrieved together. Our digital WTN guide explains the transfer document separately.
7. Check software against the waste types you handle
Ask whether the supplier's production approval covers your relevant scenarios and whether any exemptions apply. Use the official compatible-provider list and ask the supplier to explain its current capabilities.
PaperRoute is listed under Saunders Simmons Ltd for receipt reporting. The listing does not independently establish Lite or Broker approval or a live collector-phase integration.
8. Test a normal receipt and a correction
Use a realistic example to follow the process from arrival through review and reporting. Then check how a mistake is identified, assigned and corrected.
A demonstration should make the difference between an internal job record and a government reporting response clear. Keep any test activity separate from live statutory reporting.
9. Improve the collector handover ahead of Phase 2
Review customer and site records, descriptions, collection references and information supplied to receiving sites. Identify recurring gaps and agree how the driver and office should resolve them.
These are useful operational checks now. They do not assume that the final collector reporting fields or integration are already available.
10. Schedule reviews of guidance and the working process
Nominate someone to follow official changes and review affected instructions, software settings and website explanations. A checklist copied months ago can become stale as the service develops.
Review how the process works with your staff as well as how it looks in a demonstration. Record unresolved questions and the next action for each one.
Put the checks into a real workflow
Start with the roles and sites relevant to your business, then assign the outstanding checks. Receiving sites already in scope should check current reporting immediately. Operators preparing for later stages can improve record quality while following official testing updates.
The PaperRoute receiving-site workflow shows Yard capture, review and reporting through a configured connection. Book a demonstration to discuss your operation and verify the relevant process.
Government guidance reviewed on 9 October 2026. Keep checking the linked official sources for updates.