When a truck drives over a weighbridge, its mass is measured, enabling the creation of a weighbridge ticket. This document identifies what the load weighs, what the load is, and what’s carrying it, which usually refers to the truck’s registration number.
The weighbridge ticket accompanies the vehicle for its onward journey in the form of a written, hard copy document. For exporters of recyclables such as waste paper, waste plastic, or scrap metal, the value of any given commodity is estimated by weight, so the information captured by the weighbridge ticket is key.
Gross weight and tare weight
The exact mass of the load being picked up or deposited is calculated by subtracting the weight of the unloaded truck or container – known as the tare weight – from the weight of the truck or container when it is loaded, which is the gross weight. Gross and tare weights should only be entered on the same ticket if ascertained on the same day. If the driver intends to return after loading for a second weighing of the same vehicle to be recorded on the same ticket, the ticket should be retained until the second weighing is complete.
Weighbridge ticket requirements
The transportation of waste – a category which includes secondary raw materials – is regulated in the UK, and failing to use a working weighbridge to weigh a load of waste can incur a penalty. The official document that confirms the accuracy of a weighing scale for vehicles and their loads is called a weighbridge calibration certificate (WCC). It certifies that the weighbridge meets acceptable industry standards for accuracy, and sets out the latest calibration test results to prove it. Hysteresis is one of the issues that calibration can fix.
The weighbridge operator is obliged to keep a record of each weighing for 2 years. This can be a duplicate of the weighbridge ticket, but it needs to include the date and time of the weighing; the name and address of the person making the request; details that identify the vehicle; and the type of load on the vehicle.
The future of weighbridge tickets
Physical weighbridge tickets may become obsolete in the coming years. New technologies already exist that enable weighbridge data to be shared electronically with shipping lines in real time, speeding up export procedures. The UK government also introduced legislation, the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, which effectively puts electronic documents on the same legal footing as their paper equivalents, removing a barrier to weighbridge tickets being digitalised.
