Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Today, I have laid The Digital Waste Tracking (Wales) Regulations 2026 to implement the first phase of the Digital Waste Tracking System (DWTS) in Wales.
Subject to Senedd approval of the Regulations, they will establish an electronic (digital) system for tracking movements of controlled waste. The Regulations place mandatory requirements on operators of permitted sites where controlled waste is received for management to record information about that waste and ensure that information is entered into the digital system using approved software. The Regulations exclude commercial waste received at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) as they are planned for inclusion in new regulations during the second phase.
The DWTS will be UK-wide, with each nation making its own but closely aligned regulations.
The measures in these Regulations are aimed at reducing waste crime and supporting the Welsh Government’s ambitions for a circular economy. They also deliver a commitment in our Beyond Recycling Strategy to introduce a mandatory electronic waste tracking system to track where wastes end up.
The UK and Devolved Governments held a public consultation on the proposals in 2022. Engagement has continued with stakeholders via user research and established industry working groups as the development of the digital service continues, and this will inform future statutory instruments as requirements are expanded to other industry operators. Guidance for operators who are affected by these Regulations will be published, and will be kept under review and updated when necessary.
The waste industry includes a large number and complex array of operators. These work across the UK in a wide variety of sectors with varying levels of digital capability. To build a stable, effective and user-friendly service it needs to be developed incrementally. This starts with the creation of a firm foundation, which delivers some of the intended benefits, with additional aspects then being added as we learn from testing the core elements of the service in order to move towards a more complete end-to-end DWTS. Following assessment of the options and international best practice, the first phase to be delivered by these Regulations focuses on waste receiving sites inputting data about waste they receive.
A second phase, planned for delivery through future regulations, will see the digital tracking of waste received at HWRCs and waste movements from sites where the waste is produced through to waste receiving sites, including while the waste is in transport.
I look forward to engaging with Members of the Senedd during the Plenary debate on the Regulations.