Garbage Disposal Customer Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Garbage Disposal collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data relating to our customers within our service area. It also explains the lawful bases we rely on under the General Data Protection Regulation and your rights in relation to your personal data. This policy applies to all Garbage Disposal customers in our area who receive our waste collection, recycling, and related services.

Scope and Data Controller

This Privacy Policy applies to all Garbage Disposal customers in our service area, including residential and commercial customers who use our waste collection and related services. Garbage Disposal acts as the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. As data controller, we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal data and are responsible for ensuring that such processing complies with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation.

Types of Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process only the personal data that is necessary for providing our services and managing our customer relationships. The types of personal data we may collect include:

Identification data, such as your name, title, and customer account number. Contact details, such as your service address, billing address, email address, and telephone numbers. Service information, such as the type of waste collection service you receive, bin size and type, collection schedule, and any special service instructions you provide. Billing and payment data, such as invoice details, payment status, payment method identifier, and transaction history. Communications data, such as records of your contacts with us by phone, email, online forms, or in writing, including any complaints, queries, or feedback. Technical and usage data, where applicable, such as log data related to digital customer portals, online forms, or automated collection devices that may record collection times and service completion.

How We Collect Your Data

We usually collect personal data directly from you when you request a quote, enter into a service contract, communicate with us, or update your details. We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, for example from local authorities or property managers who arrange waste collection on your behalf, or from payment service providers when you complete a transaction. In all cases, we ensure that such collection and sharing complies with applicable data protection law.

Lawful Bases for Processing

We process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis under the General Data Protection Regulation. The main lawful bases we rely on are:

Contractual necessity: We process your personal data to enter into and perform our contract with you, including setting up your account, scheduling collections, issuing invoices, processing payments, and managing your service requests. Legal obligations: We may process your data to comply with legal obligations, such as tax and accounting requirements, reporting obligations to competent authorities, and obligations under environmental and waste management regulations. Legitimate interests: We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided that your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. This can include maintaining and improving our services, handling customer queries, ensuring the security and integrity of our systems and operations, and preventing fraud or misuse of our services. Consent: In limited cases, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain types of optional communications. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

How We Use Your Personal Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

To provide waste collection and related services, including managing your service plan, scheduling collections, and resolving service issues. To manage our relationship with you as a customer, including responding to your requests and complaints, and providing service updates. To administer billing and payments, including preparing invoices, processing payments, and managing arrears or disputes. To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including tax, accounting, and environmental regulations. To maintain the safety, security, and reliability of our operations, including monitoring service performance, detecting fraudulent activity, and protecting our systems. To improve and develop our services, for example by analyzing aggregated and anonymized usage data to optimize routes or service offerings.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. The retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the context of processing.

Customer account and service records are typically retained for the duration of your contract with us and for a defined period afterward to handle queries, disputes, and legal obligations. Billing and payment records are retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws. Communications data, such as complaints or requests, is retained for as long as needed to address the matter and to demonstrate how we handled it. When personal data is no longer needed for these purposes, we securely delete or anonymize it so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Data Processors and Third Parties

We may share your personal data with carefully selected third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors only process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and under a written data processing agreement that ensures appropriate data protection safeguards.

Typical categories of processors include providers of billing and payment services, providers of IT infrastructure, hosting, and maintenance services, providers of customer support systems and communication tools, and external professional advisers, such as accountants, where they process personal data solely to provide services to us. We may also share data with other third parties where we act as joint controllers or where we are required to do so by law, for example with competent authorities or law enforcement where necessary and proportionate.

International Transfers

Where we transfer personal data to a country outside the European Economic Area, we ensure that an adequate level of protection is in place in accordance with data protection law. This may include using adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or other appropriate safeguards. You can contact us for more information about the specific safeguards applied to any international transfers that concern your personal data.

Security of Your Data

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, encryption where appropriate, regular monitoring of our systems, staff training on data protection, and internal policies governing data handling. While no system can be completely secure, we continually review and improve our security measures in line with legal requirements and industry standards.

Your Data Protection Rights

As a data subject under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data processed by Garbage Disposal. These rights include:

Right of access: You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether we process your personal data and to request a copy of that data, together with information about our processing. Right to rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete data. Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you have the right to request the deletion of your personal data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing. Right to restriction: You may request that we restrict the processing of your personal data in certain cases, for example while we verify the accuracy of the data or consider an objection. Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller. Right to object: You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on our legitimate interests. We will stop such processing unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights, and freedoms, or the processing is necessary for legal claims.

Exercising Your Rights and Contact

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights or have questions about how Garbage Disposal processes your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided on your service documentation or invoices. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond to all legitimate requests within one month, or notify you if an extension is necessary due to complexity or number of requests.

Right to Complain

If you believe that your data protection rights have been infringed, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your relevant supervisory authority. We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you approach the authority, so we encourage you to contact us in the first instance.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, in applicable law, or in our data protection practices. The updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we process and protect your personal data as a Garbage Disposal customer in our area.