Waste transfer stations: notes in, tonnage out, return filed
If you run a permitted transfer station and you are looking for waste management software, this is the part of the job Skiplog covers: the transfer note at the gate, the tonnage that builds up through the quarter, and the return at the end of it. It is built for sites with one to twenty staff, where there is no compliance clerk and the weighbridge hut is also the office.
How a transfer station keeps its records today
A wagon comes onto the weighbridge. Somebody writes the gross, the tare and the net on a ticket. Somebody writes the same load again on a duplicate transfer note, tears off a copy for the driver, and the book goes back on the shelf by the window. The ticket goes on a spike or in a tray. Later in the week, if the week allows, the office keys both into a spreadsheet.
That arrangement holds together right up until the quarter ends. Then one person has to turn three months of paper into a set of totals: tonnage by waste type, EWC codes reconciled against what the description on the note actually said, loads that were written twice because two people were on the gate, loads that were never written at all because the yard was backed up onto the road, and the two or three notes that went soft in the rain.
What makes it hard on a transfer station specifically
- Volume without headcount. A busy tip can take more loads in a morning than a haulage yard sees in a week, and the person recording them is usually also directing traffic, checking the load for anything that should not be there, and answering the phone.
- The description and the code drift apart. The driver says mixed builders, the note says mixed construction and demolition waste, the spreadsheet says something shorter, and at quarter end nobody can say with confidence which EWC code that load belongs under.
- The weight and the note live in different places. The net figure is on the weighbridge ticket, the duty of care detail is on the note, and nothing joins them until someone types both.
- The book and the spreadsheet disagree. The paper record and the typed-up version are two sets of figures for one quarter, and the one you would hand an inspector is whichever was keyed most recently.
- The record gets written where the signal is worst. Behind a bay wall, inside a portacabin, under a steel roof. Anything that needs a live connection to hold onto a load is a thing that will be abandoned by the third wagon.
- The deadline is moving towards you. With digital waste tracking due to become mandatory in England, the duplicate book and the rebuilt spreadsheet stop being a workable answer. Sites that are still reconstructing a quarter from paper will feel that first.
What Skiplog is, and what it is not
Skiplog is a record keeping tool for the waste side of a transfer station. It creates waste transfer notes with the fields the Environment Agency mandates, it shows you what has been logged and what it weighs, and it turns the quarter into a file you can submit. It is made to be used at the gate on a phone or a tablet.
It is not a weighbridge system, it is not a skip hire booking and routing package, and it does not price jobs or raise invoices for your customers. If you already have something that runs the yard, Skiplog sits beside it and takes the compliance paperwork off it. If you have nothing but a duplicate book, Skiplog replaces the book.
It is sold as one subscription for one site, with unlimited transfer notes and unlimited carrier, broker and dealer registrations tracked on it. Both plans start with a 60-day free trial: £99 a month billed once a year, which is £1,188 a year, or £129 a month paid month by month.
It also does not submit on your behalf or sign anything off on your behalf. It helps you meet the record keeping requirements. The accuracy of what goes in, and the submission itself, stay with you.
From the gate to the quarterly return
- Log the load while the wagon is still on the pad
Open the note on a phone or tablet and fill the EA-mandated fields: waste type, EWC code, quantity, carrier details and destination site. It is built to be completed in under two minutes, which is the only length of time a gate operator will actually give you.
- Take the weight off the ticket
Skiplog does not read your weighbridge. Whoever is on the gate reads the net figure off the ticket and enters it in kilograms, the same figure that will total up by waste type later, so the note and the ticket agree from the start.
- Read it back before you save it
The note is the record, so the moment to catch a wrong code or a mistyped weight is on the pad, with the wagon still in front of you and the ticket still in your hand. Check the description against the code and the kilograms against the ticket, then save.
- Save the note you already have open
A note you have open saves to the device first and shows a status of queued, syncing or synced, then syncs on its own when connectivity returns. Open the form while you still have a bar of signal and the save holds behind the bay wall or in the hut; a cold start with nothing loaded still needs a connection, so start the note before you walk out of coverage.
- Watch the quarter build up
The site operator dashboard shows the notes logged, tonnage by waste type and a compliance status overview, so the quarter is visible as it happens instead of being discovered at the end of it.
- Export the return, then submit it yourself
At quarter end, one click produces a CSV in a configurable EA-specified column layout, set to the columns your area office asks for. Read the totals against what you know the site did, give the columns a look before you send it, then submit the file yourself. Skiplog prepares the return, it does not file it for you and does not decide on your behalf that it is right.
Where each mandated field comes from in a yard
| Field on the transfer note | Where it comes from on site | How Skiplog handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Waste type | What the operator sees on the back of the wagon | A field on the note, filled at the gate on mobile or tablet |
| EWC code | The code that matches the description, chosen at the gate rather than at quarter end | Recorded alongside the waste type so code and description travel together into the export |
| Quantity | The net weight from the weighbridge ticket | Entered in kilograms on the note and totalled by waste type on the dashboard |
| Carrier details | The registered carrier bringing the load in | Captured on the note at the point of transfer |
| Destination site | Where the load is going when it leaves you | Captured on the note so outbound loads carry their destination into the return |
What this changes on a transfer station
Two minutes at the gate, and that is the whole job
The note is finished where the load is, not written on paper and then typed again in the office. One entry, one record, no second pass in the evening.
Tonnage by waste type without a spreadsheet
The dashboard shows notes logged and tonnage by waste type as the quarter runs, so you can see mid-quarter what is coming through the gate instead of adding it up in January.
The return is an export, not a project
One click gives you a CSV in a configurable EA column layout. The evening of copying figures between columns becomes a file you read over and submit.
Built for a site with no compliance clerk
Skiplog is made for operators with one to twenty staff, where the technically competent manager is also on the gate. Nothing in it assumes a back office or a week of setup.
Works on the device already in the hut
Note capture is made for the phone or tablet you have. A note you have open saves to the device before it goes anywhere, so a weak signal partway through writing it does not cost you the load.
The records stay readable for as long as you need them
Everything you record is kept while the account is open, because waste records have to span quarters and inspections. A note you remove comes off your register and your returns but stays on file for the two years the regulations require, and a lapsed trial does not lock your records away.
Written to help you meet the requirements, not to promise an outcome
The wording is deliberate. Skiplog helps you keep and produce the records the mandate asks for. It cannot guarantee a compliance outcome that depends on your own data and on format changes outside its control.
Questions
Does it work when there is no signal in the yard?
A note you already have open saves to the device before it goes anywhere, shows whether it is queued, syncing or synced, and syncs on its own when connectivity returns. The practical habit is to open the form while you still have signal, then the save holds in the worst corner of the yard; opening the app cold with nothing loaded still needs a connection.
Can it produce our quarterly return to the Environment Agency?
It generates the return as a one-click CSV export in a configurable EA-specified column layout, built around the columns an area office asks for. Read the file over before you send it, because the submission stays yours: Skiplog does not submit on your behalf.
Does it connect to our weighbridge?
No. The operator reads the net weight from the weighbridge ticket and enters it in kilograms on the note. Skiplog holds the compliance record and the tonnage totals, not the weighing hardware.
Will it replace our skip hire and routing system?
No. Skiplog covers waste transfer notes, the site dashboard, carrier registration expiry tracking and the quarterly return. Booking, routing, pricing and invoicing stay wherever you run them today.
Does it keep an eye on our carriers' registrations?
Yes, as a register rather than a chase. Registrations you track are listed with their expiry dates, and anything inside 30 days is flagged on the dashboard where you see it when you sign in. The hauliers bringing loads onto a transfer station are the ones worth watching, since an unregistered carrier at the gate is your problem too.
Does one subscription cover more than one site?
No. A subscription covers one site, with unlimited transfer notes and unlimited tracked registrations on it. A second transfer station is a second subscription. People sign in with an email address and a password.
What will it cost?
£99 a month billed once a year, which is £1,188 a year, or £129 a month paid month by month and cancelled whenever you like. Both plans start with a 60-day free trial and cover one site. Card payments go through Stripe, card details never touch Skiplog, and the application and its database are hosted on Amazon Web Services.
Does Skiplog guarantee we will be compliant?
No, and you should be careful of anyone who says otherwise. Skiplog is built to help you meet the record keeping requirements by capturing the mandated fields and producing the return in the expected layout. Compliance still depends on the accuracy of what your operators enter and on what the regulator asks for at the time.