Digital Waste Tracking in Practice: From Spreadsheets to API Reporting
Build confidence, strengthen your reporting and prepare for the next stage of digital waste tracking
Join CIWM for a practical workshop designed to help waste receiving sites put digital waste tracking into action. Whether you are already reporting waste receipts following 1st October go live date, or preparing for implementation in Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1st January 2027, this session will provide practical guidance you can apply immediately.
Meeting the initial deadline was only the first step. The ongoing challenge is ensuring that every waste receipt is recorded accurately and submitted within the required timeframe, every working day. This requires operational teams to understand Defra's reporting requirements, identify gaps in existing processes, and establish clear responsibilities for collecting, checking and submitting data.
Bringing together experts from across the sector, this workshop will help you navigate the new requirements.
Course Details
Format: Online
Duration: 2.5 hours
Entry requirements: None
About this course
Understand how to complete and submit a waste receipt record
Learn how to use Defra's spreadsheet template to accurately complete and submit waste receipt records.
Identify information gaps in your reporting process
Understand where required data is held within your organisation and recognise any gaps or weaknesses in existing reporting processes.
Reduce errors and improve data quality
Learn how to carry out effective checks before submission, avoid common reporting mistakes and minimise the need for corrections.
Assess the right reporting approach for your site
Evaluate the benefits and limitations of spreadsheet and software-based reporting to determine the most suitable option for your operational needs and capacity.
Ask the right questions about software and system readiness
Develop the confidence to engage with software providers or internal IT teams on connectivity, data requirements, testing, error handling and ongoing support.
Plan practical next steps for compliance
Define clear actions for your team, including responsibilities, training requirements and process improvements to support ongoing compliance with digital waste tracking requirements.
This course is ideal for waste receiving site operators, permit holders, compliance teams, operational managers, weighbridge staff, administrative staff and those responsible for reporting systems.
This workshop will address the following challenges:
- Gaps at the gate: missing carrier details, vague waste descriptions from producers and paperwork that does not match what arrives.
- Unclear ownership: weighbridge, admin and compliance staff, as well as some contractors, each hold part of the record and nobody owns all of it.
- Errors that repeat: late submissions, waste codes that do not match the permit, and mistakes left uncorrected. Flagged errors must be fixed within two working days and others within one month of discovery.
- A temporary route with no exit plan: many sites still use Defra's spreadsheet template. Defra expects this interim approach to remain available until at least October 2027, but sites should consider their longer-term reporting needs now.
Course Structure
This is a 2.5 hours practical workshop.
This workshop covers:
- Understanding the reporting process: an overview of the waste receipt information required, relevant reporting timeframes and how reporting fits into day-to-day site operations. We will discuss where information comes from and the responsibilities of operational, administrative and compliance teams. We will also cover common reporting errors and how to avoid them.
- Using Defra's spreadsheet template: a practical walkthrough of completing and submitting a waste receipt record using a worked example. We will explore the template's key fields, how to check information before submission, common sources of error and how to organise spreadsheet reporting across your sites.
- Moving to API reporting: a plain-English explanation of how an application programming interface (API) connects your software to Defra's service. We will consider your current systems, reporting volumes, data quality, staff capacity and the work involved in preparing, testing and introducing a software connection.
- Choosing a reporting approach: how to assess spreadsheet reporting, API reporting or a combination of both against your operational needs. This will include manual data entry, quality assurance and managing reporting across multiple sites.
- Expert Q&A and practical challenges: put your questions to waste tracking specialists and discuss the challenges facing your organisation, such as missing delivery information, discrepancies between paperwork and site records, reporting errors and coordinating responsibilities between site teams and software providers.
Book your place
Active CIWM members are eligible for a 20% discount on this course. Your discount will be applied automatically at checkout when you are logged in and book using your CIWM member details.
Select your preferred date and time from the options below.
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