A trial scheme to track the movement of waste electronically is under way in southern England under the auspices of the Environment Agency.

The three-month trial involves the use of mobile computer technology and the Internet to create and maintain electronic Waste Transfer Notes (WTNs), which help to track waste from collection through to disposal

Currently the information contained in these documents is mostly recorded and stored on paper. The aim of the trial is to allow it to be created and maintained electronically using Web-hosted software and mobile computer handsets. This is expected make the process simpler, faster and more accurate.

The trial is part of the Waste Crime Innovation Programme, and involves six waste companies in south-east England – two large ones, two medium-sized and two small. They operate between 5 and 20 waste vehicles each, and aim to capture up to 100 WTNs electronically.

 

WCIP project manager Paul Keay says moving from paper to electronic WTNs should improve the quality of data collected, as well as ensuring waste producers can track their waste easily and helping waste carriers better fulfil their duty of care obligations.

The project is also expected to help to deliver business benefits to waste companies themselves, removing the need for them to store paper WTNs, speeding up invoicing and using electronic signature capture to provide proof of collection and delivery.

The pilot project is funded by Defra and managed by the Environment Agency. The underlying software has been supplied by mobility specialist Codegate, which was selected by competitive tender.