Guides › Free software
Choosing · Free or paid
- For
- Sites choosing how to report
- Short answer
- Yes, with limits
- Checked
- 16 OCTOBER 2026
Is there free digital waste tracking software?
Yes. Defra's own spreadsheet costs only the £26 a year every organisation pays Defra, and some providers publish free plans. Byrne Waste Tracking isn't free.
- Defra's route
- Fill in Defra's spreadsheet template and upload it. You pay only Defra's £26 a year per organisation.
- Free plans
- Some providers on GOV.UK's list publish one. Read what each includes.
- Byrne
- Not free: £89 per site per month, with 14 days free from 1 November 2026.
Free route 1: Defra's spreadsheet
Defra publish a spreadsheet template. You fill in a row per load and upload it to the Report receipt of waste
service within two working days. It must be Defra's format,
unchanged: your own spreadsheet isn't accepted GOV.UK. Defra expect it to stay until at
least October 2027 GOV.UK. For a site with a few loads a week, it can be enough.
Free route 2: a provider's free plan
On 16 October 2026, ComplyWaste's pricing page listed free load logging for one site, and described its
£99 Site plan as the one that sends every load to Defra ComplyWaste.
LoadSnap's pricing page listed a Free plan with 10 records a month LoadSnap.
Prices change: read their pages.
What to check on any free option
- A cap. How many loads a month, and what happens when you reach it?
- Sending. Does it send each load to Defra itself, or leave you uploading a file?
- Checks. Does anything check the codes, carrier and weight before the record goes?
- Help. Who answers when a load is rejected, and how fast?
What Byrne Waste Tracking costs, and what you get
£89 per site per month, no contract. Nothing is due until 1 November 2026. From 1 November 2026,
every new site gets 14 days free, then £89 a month.
- Each load is checked against Defra's rules first, then sent to Defra automatically once you've linked your
Defra account.
- The person who built it answers your email. Email is the quickest way to reach me, and I reply the same
working day.
- Consultants see every client site on one screen.
Guides for your type of site: skip hire and transfer stations and anaerobic digestion.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
Is there free digital waste tracking software?
Yes: Defra's own spreadsheet, which costs only Defra's £26 a year per organisation, and the free plans some providers publish. Check each plan's load cap and whether it sends to Defra itself.
Is Defra's spreadsheet free?
Apart from Defra's £26 a year per organisation, yes. You fill in Defra's template and upload it. Defra expect it to stay until at least October 2027.
Is Byrne Waste Tracking free?
No. It is £89 per site per month. Nothing is due until 1 November 2026, and from 1 November every new site gets 14 days free, then £89 a month.
Do I still pay Defra's £26 with free software?
Yes. The £26 a year is Defra's charge to each organisation, whatever software it uses.
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