DEFRA Phase 2 is the next stage of Digital Waste Tracking for waste collection activities. For an office planning daily collections, preparation starts with the job record: who produced the waste, where it came from, what is being collected and where it is intended to go.

We are gradually adapting PaperRoute around that record. Intended destination sites and waste-origin details are already available in booking workflows. Further changes will follow as DEFRA develops its guidance, testing and technical requirements.

This guide explains the work underway and the records your team can review now. It describes preparation; it does not announce a live PaperRoute Phase 2 submission service.

When is DEFRA Phase 2 planned?

The published government development timetable lists invited collector testing from autumn 2026, public testing from spring 2027 and mandatory collector use from October 2027. These are planned milestones. We will review this guide as official guidance changes.

The programme describes Phase 2 as covering carriers, brokers and dealers. Your business may perform several roles. Check each role against the developing guidance rather than assuming one date covers every activity.

How does Phase 2 differ from Phase 1?

Phase 1 concerns receiving-site reporting. Phase 2 expands the collection side of the record. A business collecting waste and operating a permitted receiving site needs to consider both workflows.

PaperRoute's existing receiving-site connection is configured and checked for eligible sites. Its receipt-reporting listing does not establish a live Phase 2 collector integration. Our Digital Waste Tracking software page explains the receiving-site workflow and wider rollout.

What is PaperRoute changing now?

Intended destination sites on bookings

Office staff can record where collected waste is expected to go, choosing from the business's saved destination sites. Waste-stream defaults reduce repeated entry, and a booking can use a different destination when the job needs it.

For example, a regular paper collection may usually go to one recycling facility. Staff can use that saved choice for routine work and choose another intended receiver for a particular booking. The intended destination describes the plan; it must not be treated as proof that the waste arrived there.

Waste origin alongside the collection record

The place waste originated and the address a driver visits can be different. PaperRoute can start with the customer's saved collection site or record another source location against the booking. Recording a different waste origin leaves the driver's physical collection address unchanged.

Waste-origin details are optional during this preparation stage. Staff can select Origin not known / not available, leave an alternative origin incomplete, and return to review it. These fields are not being presented as a new legal requirement for every booking today.

Customer and producer information

Customer records already support business classification and SIC information. The booking's waste-source section brings the source category and producer details alongside the origin, giving office staff a place to review what is known about that collection.

The customer ordering a service is not necessarily the producer of every load. Review the actual situation rather than copying an account name into every role without checking it.

A practical collection-record checklist

Work through a normal collection with the people who book, plan and complete it:

Customer and producer: can the office identify the customer and, where different, the organisation that produced the waste?
Physical collection address: does the driver have the correct place to visit, postcode and access instructions?
Waste origin: is the recorded source accurate, different from the collection point, or still unknown?
Waste description: do the waste stream, description, classification and booked container describe the expected collection?
Carrier information: are your business identity, registration and operational contact details current?
Intended receiver: is there a saved destination for routine work, and does this particular booking need an override?
Completion and receipt: can the office follow what actually happened, including missed visits, changes and the receiving-site record where applicable?

This is an operational review checklist, not a declaration of the final Phase 2 API fields. See our wider DEFRA preparation checklist for related checks.

What about cancellations, diversions and offline drivers?

The planned job and the completed movement can differ. An inaccessible collection point, a cancelled visit or a receiving site at capacity needs a clear record of what happened and who will resolve it.

PaperRoute Link supports collection work offline. That is a current driver-workflow capability; how future Phase 2 submissions and references will be coordinated with it still depends on the final integration. We will explain those changes before presenting them as available functionality.

For now, review how your office and drivers hand back changes. Avoid treating a route plan as confirmation of collection or an intended destination as a confirmed receipt. The driver app overview explains the existing collection workflow.

What is still being worked through?

We continue to review DEFRA's published information as the service develops. Details such as submission timing, external movement references, corrections and unusual collection scenarios need to follow the confirmed technical rules and available testing.

We are not promising that one booking, waste line or receiving site will always map to a particular number of government movement IDs. Those details will be confirmed as the integration is developed and tested.

Questions about Phase 2 preparation

Is PaperRoute already connected to the Phase 2 collector service?

This update is about preparation. Existing receipt reporting for eligible receiving sites is a separate integration. We will identify Phase 2 submission functionality explicitly when it is available and verified.

Will missing waste-origin information stop a booking today?

Waste-origin details are optional during this preparation stage, including an unknown-origin option. Existing physical collection-address requirements still apply to customer visits.

Does Phase 2 mean I can stop using Waste Transfer Notes now?

Continue your existing documentation processes and check the current official guidance for your activities. Adding preparation fields to PaperRoute does not remove those duties. Read about digital Waste Transfer Notes.

How will customers hear about further changes?

We will explain changes as they are introduced, update this guide and help customers understand what their office teams and drivers need to capture. The aim is a gradual transition built around everyday work.

See the preparation in your own workflow

Bring a typical collection to a free PaperRoute demo. We can walk through customer records, intended destinations, waste origins and the office-to-driver handover, and discuss what your team can improve ahead of the planned collector rollout.

For the wider product and current terms, see PaperRoute waste management software and pricing.

Last reviewed: 19 October 2026. Future milestones and integration details remain subject to official updates.

DEFRA Phase 2: Preparing Waste Collections for 2027