A new government implemented scheme means that over 12,000 permitted waste sites across England must report, in near real-time, every single load of waste that they receive, in an effort to stop waste criminals.
The government says that for years, rogue operators have been able to hide behind outdated, paper-based system, falsifying documents and burying the evidence of illegal dumping.
Waste, wherever it originated from, should be picked up by a licenced carrier and transported to a legal disposal site – unlike the 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents recorded in the past 2 years by local UK authorities.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “We are backing the communities whose lives have been blighted by this disgusting crime. Through this new service, real time information will mean faster enforcement and more evidence to catch rogue operators and shut them down at every part of the waste journey.”
The Environment Agency said they will use the data gathered through the new service to identify discrepancies between reported collections and receipts.
This is intended to lead to increased intelligence used to flag suspicious activity and target illegal operators.
Further rollout of the Digital Waste Tracking service is planned from spring 2027, as it becomes available to include waste collectors.
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