The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026
UK Statutory Instrument 2026 No. 729 — creates 3 criminal offences.
- Made
- 24 June 2026
- In force from
- 1 October 2026
- Extent
- Not stated
- Subject
- Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries
- Made under
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
These Regulations are the first to be made under powers in section 34CA and 34CB of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43) (“the 1990 Act”). They establish, in England, a digital waste tracking system, the purpose of which is to track controlled waste. Controlled waste is household, industrial or commercial waste (see section 75(4) to (8) of the 1990 Act). Part 2 (regulations 3 to 7) and Schedule 1 contain provisions relating to the establishment of the digital waste tracking system and default requirements for operators of a permitted facility to ensure the entry of information about controlled waste into the digital waste tracking system and to pay an annual fee. This Part also makes provision for outages (when information cannot be entered into the digital waste tracking system) and the correction of errors in the digital waste tracking system. Part 3 (regulations 8 to 12) contain provisions relating to digitally excluded persons, including alternative requirements for recording information that would otherwise be required to be entered into the digital waste tracking system under Part 2. Part 4 (regulations 13 and 14) contains provision about functions of the Environment Agency. Part 5 (regulations 15 to 24) and Schedule 2 contain provisions relating to offences and civil sanctions. Part 6 (regulations 25 to 27) contains provisions about appeals. Part 7 (regulations 28 to 30) contains supplementary provisions including those governing Environment Agency access to information in the digital waste tracking system and persons with whom information held under these Regulations can be shared. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is published alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk and available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.
Offences created by this instrument
- An operator of a permitted facility who fails to comply with any of the provisions of the regulations specified in… regulation 16(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- A person who fails to comply with a compliance notice imposed under Part 3 of Schedule 2 is guilty of an offence regulation 16(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- 1 Where— a an offence under these Regulations has been committed by a partnership or unincorporated association; and b… regulation 17(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
What Parliament said about it
Contributions, debates and written statements mentioning this instrument by name. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
- Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026
Lords · Grand Committee · 15 June 2026 · Baroness Hayman of Ullock
That the Grand Committee do consider the Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026. Relevant document: 2nd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
- Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 Lords · Grand Committee · 15 June 2026
- Draft Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026
Commons · General Committees · 16 June 2026 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)
I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I begin by wishing my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North a happy significant birthday, and I look forward to celebrating with her later and at various points throughout the week ahead. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 23 April this year. More than 200 million tonnes of waste are produced in the UK each year, and there is currently no comprehensive way of tracking it. Legislation…
- Draft Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026
Commons · General Committees · 16 June 2026 · Mary Creagh
I thank my hon. Friend for his kind words. I also pay tribute to his council in Oldham, which wrote to me about a very thought-provoking motion that the council passed. The leader of the council—I am sorry; his name escapes me—said that environmental justice goes hand in hand with social justice. These environmental crimes are predominantly perpetrated against poorer communities. There is a kind of social injustice there that we must not lose sight of. There are certain parts of Coventry that are spotless and have no litter or fly-tipping, and other areas, like Foleshill, the ward where my…
- Draft Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 Commons · General Committees · 16 June 2026
- Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 Lords · Lords Chamber · 17 June 2026
How Parliament handled it
Parliament's Statutory Instruments service has no record of this instrument, although it covers the period. Nothing is inferred from that.
Check the source
- This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
- Other instruments from 2026