Recording a load: what actually happens at the gate
A three-minute walkthrough of a waste movement being received into a site and recorded for the 1 October 2026 deadline, then each step in writing so your gatehouse and office staff can see what they'll need to hand.
Demonstration account with sample data. Recorded on our Defra-approved route; the record shown is sent to Defra's service and the tracking reference returned.
Six steps, one screen each
Much the same information as the paper transfer note, recorded digitally. Waste first, then the transporter, then the destination.
Two working days is not 48 hours. A Friday afternoon load has until the end of Tuesday. A Thursday load has until the end of Monday; leave it to Tuesday and it's late. Build the check into a routine rather than a memory.
Pick the site the waste is coming into
It works the same whether you run one site or a dozen. They're all managed in one place under one account, so a group picks the yard and carries on.
Enter the waste
Search for the waste type by its six-digit code, or just type the description if you don't know the code. The official description fills in from the code. Then:
- physical form (solid, liquid, sludge, gas)
- whether it contains persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
- quantity in tonnes, as an actual weight if you weighed it or an estimate if you didn't. Both are accepted. With no weighbridge, container type and fill level give an estimate using the Environment Agency's conversion factors for that code, flagged as an estimate.
- number and type of containers, a skip for instance
- the recovery or disposal code, R13 for storage pending recovery, and so on
Have ready: the codes and standard descriptions for the streams you take regularly, and your R and D codes.Add your own references
The paper transfer note that came in with the load is recorded here, along with the weighbridge ticket number if you have one. That means you can find the movement later on any reference you hold, yours or the carrier's.
Have ready: a habit of writing the ticket and note numbers into the record while the vehicle is still on the bridge.The transporter
Was it your own vehicle or an external carrier? For an external carrier, search for them and their name, address, postcode and registration number come up as the Environment Agency holds them, with their permit status. Permits are checked against the register every day, so a load can't be booked in against a registration that has expired.
Then whether a broker was involved, how it travelled (road, in most cases), and the vehicle registration. For carriers you see often, the details are suggested from their recent loads.
Have ready: the carrier registration numbers (CBDU or CBDL) of the carriers who deliver to you, and a note of which ones use a broker.The destination
That's your site, and it's already held: address, permits, all of it. The date defaults to today.
Have ready: your permit or licence details exactly as the Environment Agency holds them, once, at set-up.Confirm and complete
The load is finished and you can see it's synced. The record has gone to Defra and the tracking reference comes back to it. In the completed movements list there's the summary, the detail, a green marker showing it's fully synced, and the tracking ID.
Need to amend something afterwards, a corrected weight say? The change goes to Defra as a revision and the history stays with the record.
That's all there is to recording a load and meeting the October deadline.
What a site needs to have ready
None of this is new information. It's information you already have, in five places, that now needs to be in one.
- Six-digit waste codes and agreed descriptions for every stream you accept regularly
- Your permit or licence details as the Environment Agency holds them, for every site
- Carrier registration numbers for the carriers who deliver to you, and their renewal dates
- How you weigh: a calibrated weighbridge, or an agreed estimation method for loads you don't weigh
- Who makes the record at the gate or in the office, and who covers when they're off
- Where the paper transfer note and weighbridge ticket numbers get entered, and by whom
- A routine that gets every record completed and checked within two working days
- A place your permit renewal dates live that isn't somebody's inbox
We do the set-up with you, not to you
The recording itself takes a couple of minutes once the data behind it is right. Our work is the data behind it: a readiness review of where you stand, the codes and registrations cleaned up and loaded once, your sites set up on our Defra-approved route, and the first real loads run through alongside your own staff.
After that it's permit renewals, changes to the streams you accept, and the questions a digital record throws up once you're live. How the set-up works.
A free trial is currently available
Run your real loads through before the deadline so the routine is settled before it counts. Ask us and we'll set out what it means for your site.
Evidence of the Defra approval
Defra publishes its list of approved software providers. Happy to send you the reference so you can check it independently. Just ask.
Want to run a real load through before October?
Tell us your organisation, the site and a telephone number and we'll get you set up on the trial.
Email us about your site Call 0114 244 2640
We may hold your business contact details for compliance and marketing purposes. How we use your data.
Page last reviewed 5 September 2026.