01
Look up your postcode
See what waste flows through your area. Volumes, types, destinations. Where it goes. Whether it's actually recycled.
For the first time in UK history, structured waste-movement data will exist nationwide — when DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking Service goes mandatory in October 2026.
WasteWatch is the public-facing tool that turns that data into something you can actually use. Free. Independent. Built for the people whose waste it is — not the businesses moving it.
Four simple things, each answering a question the public has never been able to answer before.
See what waste flows through your area. Volumes, types, destinations. Where it goes. Whether it's actually recycled.
Search any UK waste carrier by name or registration number. See their permits, volumes, and any associated regulatory action.
The European Waste Catalogue uses 6-digit codes for every waste type. We translate them into plain English.
See what your local authority is doing with its waste contracts. Recycling rates, destinations, comparison against similar councils.
The opportunity
Until now, UK waste data has been fragmented across paper notes, regional regulators, and council reports that nobody reads. From October 2026, DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking Service makes electronic reporting mandatory for waste receivers. From October 2027, carriers and brokers come into scope.
For the first time, the data exists in one place, in a structured format.
Every UK government open-data programme has followed the same pattern. Companies House data underpins fraud monitoring. Land Registry data underpins Rightmove and Zoopla. MOT history data underpins every used-car platform. Government opens the data; civic-tech turns it into something useful.
Nobody has built that for waste. WasteWatch fills the gap.
WasteWatch's launch is paced to track the rollout of DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking Service.
Domain registered. Strategy locked. Public-data sources mapped: Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales, NIEA. EWC reference database in build.
Core lookups developed: postcode, carrier, EWC code, council. Plain-English explainers written. Civic design language finalised.
Digital Waste Tracking becomes mandatory for permitted waste receivers in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. WasteWatch begins ingesting whatever public data DEFRA releases.
v1 goes live. Free. No login. No tracking. Source citations on every data point.
Carriers, brokers, and dealers come into mandatory scope (October 2027). Search and filter tools for journalists. Council-level dashboards. Public API for researchers.
WasteWatch is an independent civic-tech project. It is not affiliated with DEFRA, the Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales, or NIEA. It is a project of Traction Solutions Ltd, built by the team behind CheckPod — a UK fleet compliance platform built by people who actually drive the vehicles.
We have no commercial product on WasteWatch. There is no premium tier, no advertising, no data resale. The site is funded by Traction Solutions Ltd as a public-good project. Public data, made public.
If you're a journalist, academic, council researcher, or environmental campaigner with a question about UK waste data — get in touch. Even before launch, we may be able to help.