Question 1

What is Trace?

Accepted Answer

Trace is a waste and recycling ecosystem for all parties involved in the generation of waste and recycling (producers), businesses that process waste and recycling (processors) and importantly, businesses that produce new life materials, recycled energy, landfill or other final destinations of waste (End of Life).Trace is unique in how it leverages the whole waste community, from production to end of life, through a social sharing of data that is readily available to all contributors, and leverages this to formulate, trace and produce each member's unique hierarchy of waste that they produce.We even allow each member/contributor to name their waste materials as they currently operate, to minimise adoption and complexity whilst also managing how this is translated up and down the chains of custody, giving each member their OWN unique view in their own language and terminology.Trace is designed to sit alongside either advanced systems and processes with API’s, or federated systems with easy loadable data templates, through to members that have little current systems or automation, with screens to support their data entry.We operate at a site/facility level to allow multiple sites with differing arising waste, differing processing plants, etc., to have a tailored experience and environment, but these are also grouped at an organisational level to allow larger members to have a company-wide view and settings.Trace not only joins up the hidden links in your own personal custody chain, per material, but also clearly identifies each responsible party in these complex chains with certificates produced at each critical point in that chain. This allows not only quick identification of the last legally responsible point in your chain of custody, but equally allows certainty in knowing your materials have reached a certifiable point for destruction and completion of their journey.Trace is the missing link that we all want, but can’t be delivered without a neutral industry-wide platform.Welcome to Trace

Question 2

What makes Trace different?

Accepted Answer

Trace is different to almost all software available to the producers of waste and the wider waste and recycling market.We don’t focus on only one step in your waste journey; we focus on ALL of them.Each Trace license/member is a unique component in the Trace ecosystem, linked with advanced intelligence, messaging and algorithms that allow each license to interact with its unique chain of custody, built in real time as it changes.As secondary, tertiary or more parties are involved in your chain of custody, or a change in your unique chain of custody, Trace will continually evolve and inform you.Never be lost again to where, who and what has become of your waste and recycling.What better place to also meet your regulatory, authority, state or municipal reporting obligations! Move your business from just reporting upwards to meet regulations, to working in all directions to allow this information to be powerful to your business as well.
In the UK, they have Digital Waste Tracking coming into enforcement in October 2026. Trace will provide this reporting to the UK government for all Trace members who populate TraceWe passionately believe this is not only a different way to manage your full responsibility, but is also a very different way to change the sustainability dial globally.Imagine a world where we know with certainty that our waste and recycling is not only being handled as responsibly as parcel delivery, but that we can now see what it metamorphoses into through that unique journey for each valuable part of our waste.A community that can take positive action to make this market better with collaboration rather than secrecy, certified rather than individually invoiced and hopefully optimised to produce the most we can from what we dispose of!That is the Trace difference

Question 3

What is UK Digital Waste Tracking?

Accepted Answer

Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) is a UK Government mandate requiring all waste movements to be digitally recorded. Waste Receiving Facilities must comply from October 2026. Trace handles this automatically for all members. This, along with increasing Producer responsibility, increases our communities' need to report this information.

There are further steps to this regulation planned in the very near future:

Indicative UK Rollout Timeline

Spring 2026 – Public beta available for waste receiving sites. 
October 2026 – Mandatory for permitted/licensed receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 
January 2027 – Mandatory for receiving sites in Scotland. 
Spring 2027 – Public beta for carriers, brokers and dealers. 
October 2027 – Wider mandatory rollout for collectors, carriers, brokers and dealers.

In the European Union there are many similar obligations very quickly coming to our market and producers of waste.

There is also the increasing public demand to greener businesses, increased sustainability and responsible business practices.

All these will require increased regulatory authorities, state and municipal reporting of the same information we will all be producing, and not gaining our own benefit from.
Why just report this to only the government and authorities, when this information, when brought together, empowers, improves and informs all who contribute!

Trace is at the forefront of not just regulatory reporting, but in sharing the benefits of this back to all those who contribute

Question 4

Who is Trace for?

Accepted Answer

Trace is designed for ALL involved in the production, processing, end-of-life and reuse of materials in the waste and recycling marketplace.

For Producers (Retail, Manufacturing, etc):

Imagine not just asking your contracting parties to ‘promise’ that they, their downstream parties and their downstream parties are handling your waste and recycling to contract, but PROVING they are!

Seeing in near real-time as subcontracts and arrangements change, which affect your responsibility and outcome.

Knowing what materials, volumes and location your waste is going to, again in real-time

Holding unknown contracting parties to account for their responsibility in handling and maximising your waste.

Once your chain is complete on Trace, being able to see what secondary materials or products have been produced and seeking out opportunities to buy those products you need, from your own secondary use of your own waste!

For Processors (Waste sorting, processing, mono-streams, etc):

We understand the waste market very well, so deeply appreciate the amazing job all companies in this market are doing, but we all know we could be doing better, IF we knew more.

What is the decomposition of our inbound, which sources are producing greater or lesser amounts of valuable materials? Can we really certify our outbound unless it's going to an end-of-life? The risks carried with responsible processing or destruction only to find a downstream party has incorrectly disposed of one of our customers' branded materials.

For End of Life Processors (Landfill, Energy from Waste, etc) & New Life Processors:

Being able to validate the source of inbound materials, all the way back to the original producer of waste, opens many new business opportunities and confidence in the legitimacy and provenance.

For energy producers, being able to allocate value to originating sources, for the landfill to certify sources and their originating sources

New Life Manufacturers (manufacturers using recycled materials):

For new life processors to be able to trace back to where and who the waste arose

Question 5

How does the DWT beta work?

Accepted Answer

By becoming a Trace member in the first 6 months (May 2026 – Oct -2026), you will become part of our DEFRA Digital Waste Tracking Cohort. ISB Global are working with DEFRA’s API program to simplify and automate your regulatory submission automatically from your Trace usage. We will welcome your feedback, update and amend our Ecosystem to ensure compliance for all active members by October 2026.Indicative UK Rollout TimelineSpring 2026 – Public beta available for waste receiving sites. October 2026 – Mandatory for permitted/licensed receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. January 2027 – Mandatory for receiving sites in Scotland. Spring 2027 – Public beta for carriers, brokers and dealers. October 2027 – Wider mandatory rollout for collectors, carriers, brokers and dealers. As new regulatory requirements arise, we will work collaboratively with our community, again through beta programs, to expand our collective compliance ahead of time, where appropriate for the Traces community.We are also working on other countries, states and municipalities' compliance reporting and would highly value bringing on members to Trace who have similar reporting requirements across the globe.

Question 6

Can I buy back materials my waste produced?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in our initial release, this will be knowing who and what of your waste has been shared with new product producers. As the ecosystem builds and more new product producers join our community, we will open a community ‘shop’ where we will offer direct purchasing.

Question 7

Is my data secure?

Accepted Answer

Each licensee is responsible for the security management of their access (user names and passwords), though the risk to the community of such a lapse is substantially minimised with each license being independent.ISB Global follows the usual high standards of a cloud service for security, backup and operational availability.

Questions about Trace.

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