UK waste compliance, term by term
The vocabulary that runs the industry — what each term actually means, and where it bites in day-to-day operations. Bookmark it, send it to new starters, quote it in tenders.
Waste Transfer Note (WTN)
The legal record accompanying a transfer of non-hazardous waste between parties: what the waste is (via its EWC code), who transferred it, who received it, and when. The WTN chain is the backbone of duty of care. How AxiWaste digitises them →
EWC code
A six-digit European Waste Catalogue code classifying a waste stream — e.g. 20 03 01 for mixed municipal waste. Under Digital Waste Tracking, EWC codes must be reported per stream on every receipt, which is why "assigned from a controlled catalogue" beats "remembered by the driver".
Consignment note
The hazardous-waste equivalent of a WTN, carrying additional declarations. If a stream is hazardous, a consignment note isn't optional — AxiWaste flags those streams automatically from the waste catalogue.
Duty of care
The legal obligation on anyone who produces, carries, treats or disposes of waste to keep it safe and ensure anyone it's handed to is authorised to take it. In practice: verified licences, complete transfer records, and an audit trail you can actually produce.
Digital Waste Tracking Service (DWTS)
The UK government service, also called Digital Waste Tracking, replacing paper waste records with mandatory digital reporting — mandatory for waste receivers in England and Wales from 1 October 2026, Scotland and Northern Ireland from January 2027. The mandate explained →
Receipt of Waste API
DEFRA's interface through which compatible software submits digital waste-receipt records — the system of record behind the Digital Waste Tracking Service. Defra publishes the providers confirmed to meet the requirements; Axithorn, the company behind AxiWaste, is on that list.
Waste exemption (T and U codes)
A registered waste activity exempt from needing a full environmental permit, subject to conditions and tonnage limits. T codes (T1–T33) cover treating waste; U codes (U1–U16) cover using waste — a different system from EWC codes, which classify the waste itself. EWC codes vs exemption codes →
Gate fee
What a disposal or treatment site charges to accept a load, usually per tonne, varying by site and waste type. Gate fees are why "nearest tip" and "cheapest tip" are different answers — and why AxiWaste routes on both.
Weighbridge
The vehicle scale that weighs lorries in and out of a site; gross minus tare gives the net weight of the load. Under Digital Waste Tracking, that net weight becomes a required part of the digital record.
Waste carrier registration
The Environment Agency registration legally required to transport waste in England, held on a public register. AxiWaste re-checks every carrier and broker licence on your jobs against that register nightly.
Transfer station
A permitted facility where waste is received, bulked, sorted or temporarily held before onward transport. Transfer stations sit at the heart of the receipt-reporting duty — every inbound load is a reportable receipt.
HWRC
Household Waste Recycling Centre — the local-authority site householders know as "the tip". Municipal contracts often combine HWRC-linked duty-of-care records with kerbside rounds and trade waste on one reporting obligation.
Dry Mixed Recycling (DMR)
Commingled recyclables — typically paper, card, plastics and cans — collected in one container and separated later at a materials recovery facility. A staple stream of commercial collection rounds.
Trade waste
Waste produced by businesses rather than households, collected under commercial agreements — each with duty-of-care documentation attached. The recurring-schedule backbone of most independent collectors.
Terms handled. Operation next?
See how AxiWaste turns all of the above into a by-product of doing the job — or score your current setup first.