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Upcoming API changes

This page summarises upcoming changes to the Receipt of Waste API.

Past changes currently live in production are listed in the Receipt of Waste API changelog.

New SEPA authorisation numbers

Type: Non-breaking

Status: Planned

Test environment date: 19 November 2026 (estimated)

Production environment date: 19 November 2026 (estimated)

Affects: Receivers submitting movements that include any permit numbers issued by SEPA

What you need to do

This SEPA receiver authorisation number format is now also accepted:

  • EAS/P/9999999

The following SEPA broker or dealer and carrier authorisation number formats are now also accepted:

  • WCR/ZZZZZZ – where ZZZZZZ is a 6-character combination of letters and numbers, for example, WCR/02bd5f

  • EAS/R/9999999

  • SCO/999999/B

  • SCO/999999/CB

  • SEA/999999/CB

  • SNO/999999/CB

  • SWE/999999/CB

New EWC Codes

Type: Non-breaking

Status: Planned

Test environment date: 19th November 2026 (estimated)

Production environment date: 19th November (estimated)

Affects: Waste receiving sites in Northern Ireland

This change introduces European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes that meet new EU legislation for Northern Ireland. These new codes will also be included in GET ewc-codes method.

Report hazardous and POPs concentrations as a threshold

Type: Non-breaking

Status: Planned

Test environment date: 21 October 2026

Production environment date: 21 October 2026

Affects: Receivers who accept hazardous or POPs waste

This change allows you to report a concentration as a threshold (for example, "greater than 100 mg/kg") as well as an exact value. We've added this because users told us they often only know a limit, and the regulators support the change.

What you need to do

Your current integration will keep working. If your users receive hazardous or POPs waste, we recommend adding this as soon as possible, so they can report thresholds.

To report a threshold, use the new concentrationOperator field on hazardous and POPs components in wasteItems:

  • put the number in concentration (mg/kg, greater than zero, no symbol or unit)
  • put the symbol in concentrationOperator: > for hazardous components, < or > for POPs

Leave out concentrationOperator when you're reporting an exact value, or when concentration is null. A null concentration will continue to return a 201 response with a warning that a concentration value is recommended when sourceOfComponents is PROVIDED_WITH_WASTE, GUIDANCE or OWN_TESTING.

Field descriptions and validation rules for concentrationOperator

Known issue

If you send both concentration and concentrationOperator as null, you'll get a 400 response saying the concentration must be specified. Leave out concentrationOperator instead. The movement will be created with a 200, but with a warning that a concentration value is recommended.

Past changes currently in production appear in the Receipt of Waste API changelog.


Page last updated on November 10th.