Guides › Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part A · Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Starts
- JANUARY 2027
- Regulators
- SEPA · NIEA
- Checked
- 17 OCTOBER 2026
Scotland and Northern Ireland: digital waste tracking from January 2027
England and Wales started on 1 October 2026. In Scotland the same duty starts on 1 January 2027, in law. In Northern Ireland DAERA say January 2027, on the same service. If you run a permitted site there, you have until then.
- Starts
- Scotland: 1 January 2027, in law. Northern Ireland: January 2027, DAERA say. NI's own regulations haven't been made yet.
- Who
- Sites authorised to receive waste: transfer stations, scrap yards, landfills, composting and energy-from-waste sites, among others.
- How
- The same Defra Report receipt of waste service as England and Wales, through software or Defra's spreadsheet.
- Deadline
- Scotland: two working days from the day after each load arrives, with Easter Monday and Scottish bank holidays left out. Northern Ireland: not set yet. The other three nations all use two working days.
Scotland
The Digital Waste Tracking (Scotland) Regulations 2026 come into force on 1 January 2027 SSI 2026/145.
SEPA say phase 1 covers permitted sites that receive controlled waste, and give transfer stations, scrap
yards, landfills, energy-from-waste facilities and composting sites as examples SEPA.
- Not in phase 1, SEPA say: former waste licensing exempt sites, simple or complex, and new
authorisations issued at registration level under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland)
Regulations 2018.
- The charge: £26 a year, paid to the Scottish Ministers, first payable when the duty starts
on 1 January 2027 reg 5. SEPA describe it as upfront, covering
12 months, and GOV.UK say the first payment is due by 31 January 2027. Digitally excluded people don't pay it.
- Working days: SEPA list Saturdays, Sundays, bank holidays and Easter Monday as days you don't need
to submit on. Every Scottish due date is worked out here.
- Councils: the duty doesn't apply to a place a council provides under section 53(1)(a) of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990, such as a household waste recycling centre
reg 4(2). SEPA's page names council transfer stations
separately, so if you run one, ask SEPA.
Northern Ireland
DAERA say phase 1, for sites receiving waste, becomes mandatory in Northern Ireland from January 2027, and
the rest of the waste industry follows in phase 2, planned for October 2027 DAERA.
GOV.UK give the same date: January 2027 in Northern Ireland and Scotland GOV.UK.
Northern Ireland's own regulations haven't been made yet (legislation.gov.uk, checked 17 October 2026), so
the deadline, exclusions and charge there are planned, not law. For a question about your own site, ask
the regulator, NIEA.
What to do before 1 January
- Check you hold a permit for a site that receives waste. A registered exemption is not phase 1.
- Register your organisation on Defra's service with your organisation's sign-in,
not a personal one. The service is open for voluntary use now, so you can practise first.
- Get your API code if you'll use software. Here is which number it is.
- Gather what every load needs: your carriers' registration numbers (in Scotland, SEPA's register. SEPA's
newer EAS/R/ numbers aren't taken by Defra's service yet, Defra say a fix is coming), your
usual waste codes and your R or D codes. Carrier numbers ·
EWC codes · R and D codes.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
When does digital waste tracking start in Scotland?
1 January 2027. The Digital Waste Tracking (Scotland) Regulations 2026 come into force then, for permitted sites that receive waste.
When does digital waste tracking start in Northern Ireland?
January 2027 for sites receiving waste, DAERA and GOV.UK say. The rest of the waste industry is planned to follow in October 2027.
Is it a different service in Scotland?
No. It is the same Defra Report receipt of waste service used in England and Wales, through software or Defra's spreadsheet.
Do exempt sites in Scotland have to do it from January 2027?
SEPA say former waste licensing exempt sites, and new registration-level authorisations, are not included in phase 1.
Is there a charge in Scotland?
Yes. £26 a year, paid to the Scottish Ministers, first payable when the duty starts on 1 January 2027 (regulation 5). SEPA say it is paid upfront and covers 12 months. Digitally excluded people do not pay it.
What counts as a working day in Scotland?
SEPA say you do not need to submit on Saturdays, Sundays, Easter Monday or bank holidays.
Want this done for you at the gate?
Byrne Waste Tracking runs in the browser on a phone at the gate, with nothing to install. It remembers your carriers and their numbers,
offers the waste codes and R or D codes your site uses, checks each load against Defra's rules before
it saves, and sends it to Defra automatically once you've linked your Defra account.
Byrne Digital Solutions is listed on GOV.UK as a compatible software provider.
£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. After that it's £89 a month per site, and there's no card to enter until you start it. No setup fee when you set it up yourself. If a consultant introduces you, any setup fee is agreed through them and you see the amount before you pay anything.
A site in Scotland or Northern Ireland that joins before 1 January 2027 pays nothing until 1 January 2027, the day the duty starts there.
Got a waste consultant? Ask them about Byrne first: they can introduce you, your site is set up for
you, and it shows on their Clients screen. How that works.
Already a customer? Open the app. Stuck on something here? Email
wilf@byrnedigitalsolutions.co.uk - email is the quickest
way to reach me, and I reply the same working day.
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