Receiving sites · SEPA

Digital Waste Tracking in Scotland

Prepare your receiving-site workflow for 1 January 2027. Check the Scottish scope, choose your reporting route and see how PaperRoute connects Yard observations, receipt review and reporting status.

Book a receiving-site demo →Use the readiness checklist

Free tailored demo. We confirm your setup and supported workflow before live reporting. Current subscription and included support.

Check which receiving activities are in scope

SEPA’s Phase 1 guidance covers permitted facilities that carry out waste activity and receive controlled waste. Check the authorisation held for the receiving operation, not just whether the business collects or transports waste.

SEPA excludes former waste-licensing-exempt sites and registration-level authorisations from Phase 1. Its guidance also describes an exception for certain local-authority household recycling centres and transfer stations. Review your own authorisation against that guidance.

Read SEPA’s Scottish Digital Waste Tracking guidance ↗

From an arriving load to a reviewed receipt

PaperRoute connects the information your Yard and office teams work with. For an eligible receiving site, we configure and check the DEFRA connection with you before live reporting.

Capture what arrived

Record waste details, weight and discrepancies in the Yard workflow. Keep the expected booking separate from the observed load.

Review the receipt

Check missing information and the supporting details with the person responsible for reporting.

Follow the reporting outcome

Submit through the configured connection and check the receipt’s status. A saved local record is not proof of acceptance.

PaperRoute demonstration waste receipts table with reporting status and information checks — Actual PaperRoute demonstration account. Receipt statuses shown are examples, not evidence of a live SEPA submission.

PaperRoute is named under Saunders Simmons Ltd on the GOV.UK compatible-software list. We review suitability for your authorisations, waste scenarios and setup.

Choose the reporting process that fits your operation

The government provides a prescribed spreadsheet route as well as an API route through compatible software. You can review the process you already use before deciding whether to move to a wider operations platform.

PaperRoute is designed for connected customer, collection, driver, Yard, document and invoicing work. Bring your current process to a demo so we can establish the fit and configuration together.

Official registration and reporting routes ↗Spreadsheet versus connected software

When your business both collects and receives waste

Consider a Scottish operator that collects materials and brings them to its own yard. Review the collecting activity and the receiving operation separately. The Yard team needs a reliable handover of what actually arrived, even when the booked description or intended load has changed.

Use the time before January to agree who captures arriving-load details, who reviews them and who checks the reporting outcome. Walk through a discrepancy and staff-absence cover as part of that handover.

This is an example for reviewing your process, not a customer case study. Running skip collections and a receiving yard? Explore PaperRoute Skips.

Receiving-site readiness checklist

Practical preparation notes for your team. Tick the checks as you review them; your choices stay on this page and are not sent anywhere.

0 of 8 preparation checks reviewed

Confirm your role and scopeCheck the relevant national guidance for the receiving operation and authorisation. Collection work and receiving waste are different roles.Identify the organisation and sitesList the legal business, receiving locations and authorisations that need to be reviewed during setup.Agree the reporting routeDecide whether to use the government spreadsheet, compatible software, or both. Follow the current official format.Review a typical arriving loadBring the waste description, classification, quantity and carrier/site information your team normally receives.Assign review and reporting responsibilityAgree who checks records, follows reporting outcomes and provides cover when the usual person is away.Walk through a problem recordCheck how the team reviews a discrepancy, rejected submission or later correction and follows the regulator’s current guidance.Keep existing document processes clearReview WTNs, consignment notes and other returns separately. A local record or signed PDF does not itself confirm an accepted receipt report.Review setup and team handoverConfirm the supported workflow, responsibilities and start plan with your team before live reporting.

Completing this checklist is a preparation exercise, not a legal scope decision or a compliance certificate. Check current national guidance for the duties that apply to your site.

Questions from receiving-site teams

When does Phase 1 start in Scotland?

SEPA states that the Scottish Phase 1 regulations come into force on 1 January 2027. Receiving sites in scope can already use the service voluntarily.

Does every Scottish waste business need to report from January?

Check the receiving operation’s authorisation against SEPA’s scope and exclusions. Collecting waste, holding a carrier registration or operating under an exempt or registration-level authorisation does not by itself establish Phase 1 scope.

Do I send my Waste Transfer Notes to a separate SEPA system?

Receipt reporting uses the shared UK Report receipt of waste service. Existing Scottish duty-of-care and waste-reporting processes continue as described by SEPA; do not treat a signed WTN as a submitted receipt report.

Can I use the DEFRA spreadsheet instead of software?

The government provides a prescribed receipt-reporting spreadsheet route. Software is an alternative route for connected workflows. Review the reporting process and wider operational work you need to manage.

Can PaperRoute show us the workflow before we commit?

Book a free receiving-site demo. We can show the Yard, receipt review and reporting-status workflow and discuss your authorisations, waste scenarios, setup and current subscription terms.

Bring a real receiving-site workflow to your demo

Show us how you currently capture arrivals, review load differences and handle reporting. We’ll demonstrate the relevant PaperRoute workflow and discuss setup, team training and support.

Book your free receiving-site demo →

No obligation to subscribe. See the current subscription terms.

Reviewed by the PaperRoute team on 19 October 2026 against the linked official sources. This page supports preparation and software selection; the relevant regulator determines the duties that apply to your operation. Existing document and reporting requirements need to be checked separately.