Use Case · Liquid Waste & Tankers
Digital Waste Tracking Software for Liquid Waste Tankers
Septic tanks, cesspits, interceptors, grease traps and gullies. Every job signed at the property, volumes on the note, hazardous loads on consignment notes, and set up before phase 2.
- Signed at the property or by link
- Litres on the note
- Set up before phase 2
Why liquid waste is different.
You measure it in litres, collect it from properties where nobody's in, and tip it at sites with their own rules. The paperwork has to cope with all three.
Litres, not tonnes
You measure what came out of the tank. Digital Waste Tracking wants a weight, and accepts an estimate as long as it’s flagged as one.
Nobody home
Rural properties, empty units and site managers who are never on site. The signature still has to come from somewhere.
Domestic and commercial
Householders don’t need a transfer note for their own septic tank. Businesses do. Your records need every job either way.
Interceptors are hazardous
Oily water and sludges from oil/water separators are hazardous waste, and go on consignment notes, not WTNs.
Many places to tip
Sewage treatment works, liquid waste treatment plants and AD sites, each with its own acceptance rules and paperwork.
Phase 2 is coming
Carriers come onto Digital Waste Tracking in phase 2, with a public beta from April 2027.
Driver phones
Signed at the property.
The driver records the job and the volume on their phone before the hose is back on the reel. The customer signs on screen, or gets a link if they're out, and the note is in your records either way.
- Drivers log in on their own phone: up to 10 on Pro, 25 on Enterprise
- Customer signs on screen, or by a signing link when nobody’s home
- Quantity in litres or cubic metres, as you measured it
- Interceptor waste on hazardous consignment notes, signed on screen
- Quick-fill templates for regular contracts like weekly grease traps
From the tank to the Defra receipt.
What happens to a load of liquid waste on a WasteBolt account.
Jobs
- Septic tank & cesspit sludge
20 03 04 - Drains, sewers & gullies
20 03 06 - Grease trap (edible oils)
19 08 09 - Edible oil & fat
20 01 25 - Aqueous liquid waste
16 10 02 - Interceptor oily water
13 05 07*
Driver's phone
Job, code and volume recorded. Signed on screen or by link.
WasteBolt
WTN or consignment note kept, carrier details on it, passed to the tip through Linked.
Defra DWT
Reported by the receiving site now, and by you as the carrier from phase 2.
Codes marked * are hazardous. For gully and interceptor codes in detail, see our gully cleaners EWC guide.
Litres or tonnes? It depends where it's going.
Digital Waste Tracking accepts weights in grams, kilograms or tonnes, each marked as measured or estimated. See our DWT receipt guide.
How it works for a tanker firm.
Set up your contracts once, then every job is signed, kept and ready.
Set up customers and jobs
Regular contracts as quick-fill templates with the right code, your tipping points and a seat for each driver.
Sign at the property
The driver records the job and the volume, and the customer signs on screen, or by link if they’re out.
Hand over at the treatment site
Pass the note to a receiving site on WasteBolt through Linked, or hand over a complete PDF.
Set up before phase 2
When carriers come onto Digital Waste Tracking, every job is already a digital record in WasteBolt.
Pick the route that fits your business.
From a one-tanker septic service to a fleet with its own treatment site.
Domestic and rural work
Septic tank service
Every job logged on the driver’s phone, with signing links for the many customers who are never home.
How WTN signing links work →Interceptors, grease traps, drains
Commercial & industrial tankering
Contracts as templates, hazardous interceptor waste on consignment notes, everything in one account.
Hazardous consignment notes →Permitted to receive liquid waste
Tanker firm with its own treatment site
Your site is a receiving site, so phase 1 applies now. Weighbridge tickets become WTNs and Defra submissions automatically.
How Gatehouse works →Phase 2: beta April 2027, mandatory expected October 2027
Phase 2 of Digital Waste Tracking brings waste carriers onto the service, including tanker firms collecting liquid waste. If you run a permitted site that receives liquid waste, phase 1 already applies to it.
Read the phase 2 guide for carriersLiquid Waste FAQ.
Questions we hear from tanker and drainage firms.
Do liquid waste and tanker firms have to use Digital Waste Tracking?
Not yet as a carrier. Phase 2 is the one that applies to you: a public beta from April 2027, with mandatory use expected from October 2027. If you also run a permitted site that receives liquid waste, phase 1 already applies to that site, in England and Wales since 1 October 2026.
Digital Waste Tracking asks for a weight. We measure litres. What do we do?
Today the receiving site reports the load to Defra, not you. Your note can record the volume in litres or cubic metres. Digital Waste Tracking needs a weight in grams, kilograms or tonnes, and accepts an estimate as long as it is flagged as one: for most watery loads, a litre weighs roughly a kilogram. If the load goes over a weighbridge, that weight is used instead.
Do householders need a waste transfer note for a septic tank empty?
No. Householders disposing of their own household waste are exempt from needing a waste transfer note, though they should check you are a registered carrier. Businesses, farms and other commercial customers do need one for every collection.
Is interceptor waste hazardous?
Yes. Oily water and sludges from oil/water separators are hazardous, under codes such as 13 05 07* and 13 05 02*, so they move on a hazardous waste consignment note rather than a WTN. WasteBolt creates both, signed on screen.
Which code do we use for grease trap waste?
Grease and oil from separators containing only edible oils and fats is usually 19 08 09, which is non-hazardous. If it is mixed with mineral oil or other dangerous substances, it falls under the hazardous code 19 08 10* instead.
What if the customer isn’t there to sign?
Send a signing link. The customer signs remotely on their own phone or computer, and the signed PDF lands in your records with no paper to chase.
What if we don't have time to run it ourselves?
Our Done For You service can run your paperwork and checks for you now, and take on the Digital Waste Tracking side once phase 2 opens, from the same WasteBolt account.