Defra's waste tracking spreadsheet, or software?

How the spreadsheet route works

1. Download Defra's receipt of waste template.
2. Fill in the mandatory boxes. In the template, each load is one row on the waste movement tab and each kind of waste in it is a row on the waste item tab. Your own reference, such as the weighbridge ticket number, joins the two.
3. Upload it to the Report receipt of waste service. Each load gets a waste tracking reference back.

Several loads can go in one file, and so can loads from every site the same organisation runs. A second organisation needs its own file, and after each upload you start a new one GOV.UK.

The catch: the two working days run for every load. A file saved up for the end of the week is late for most of what's in it GOV.UK.

Where spreadsheets go wrong

• Dates and times go in as day, month, year and a time, such as 15/10/2026 09:30:00.
• Waste codes are six digits. Excel likes to turn them into numbers or dates, so check they still read 170904 after you save.
• Weights need a unit. A kilogram figure typed under tonnes is a big mistake on a small load.
• Container and transport boxes take Defra's own list, not free text.
• Fixing a load later needs its waste tracking reference GOV.UK. How to correct a record.

Which suits your site

• The spreadsheet can work for a few loads a week, filled in by one person at a desk every day or two.
• Software suits loads every day, someone at the gate rather than a desk, several sites, or wanting each load checked before it goes.

Byrne Waste Tracking checks each load against Defra's rules first, then sends it to Defra automatically once you've linked your Defra account. If you ever need the spreadsheet instead, its Export screen builds Defra's template from the loads you've saved. £89 per site per month, no contract. Join before 1 November 2026 and nothing is due until 1 November; join from 1 November and you get 14 days free. Pricing in full.