Waste Disposal Surrey Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Disposal Surrey collects, uses, stores and protects personal data about individuals who use our waste collection, recycling, and related services in Surrey. It applies to all Waste Disposal Surrey customers and prospective customers in our operating area, including individuals, households, landlords, property managers, and business contacts. We are committed to processing your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent way in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act.

Who we are and scope of this policy

Waste Disposal Surrey is a waste management service provider operating within Surrey. For the purposes of data protection law, we are the data controller in respect of the personal data we collect and use about you in relation to our services. This Privacy Policy covers all personal data that we process about customers, prospective customers, and individuals who contact us, regardless of how you interact with us, whether by phone, email, online enquiry, or in person.

Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data, depending on how you use our services:

Identification and contact data, such as your name, address, email address, telephone number and any other contact details you choose to provide. Service and account information, such as details of the services you request, service addresses, access instructions, container types, collection frequency, and notes relating to your service preferences. Billing and payment information, such as bank account details or card information provided for payment processing, billing address, transaction history, and records of invoices and payments. Communication records, such as emails, letters, and notes of telephone conversations or messages relating to enquiries, quotations, complaints, or service updates. Usage and technical data, such as basic information about how you interact with our website or online forms, including the date and time of visits and pages viewed, where this information is collected. Compliance and safety information, such as records needed for health and safety, environmental compliance, incident reports, and any documentation related to regulatory requirements.

How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to request a quotation, set up an account, book a collection, make a payment, or communicate with us about an existing service. We may also receive personal data from third parties where this is necessary to provide our services, for example from managing agents, landlords or business partners who provide your contact details so we can deliver waste services at a property. In some cases we may collect limited personal data from publicly available sources or legitimate business databases where we are seeking to offer services to local organisations, provided that this is done in compliance with data protection law.

Lawful basis for processing

We only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the specific activity, one or more of the following bases will apply:

Performance of a contract: We process your personal data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing scheduled or one off waste collection services, issuing invoices and processing payments, and managing your account. Legal obligation: We process certain information to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including environmental regulations, tax and accounting rules, health and safety obligations, and record keeping duties. Legitimate interests: We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided your rights and freedoms are not overridden. This can include managing and improving our services, responding to enquiries and complaints, planning routes and logistics, preventing fraud, and maintaining accurate business records. Consent: In certain limited situations, for example where we send you some forms of direct marketing that are not covered by legitimate interests, we will rely on your consent. Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time.

How we use your personal data

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

To provide waste disposal and related services you have requested, including arranging collections, maintaining service schedules, and dealing with access instructions and special requirements. To manage our relationship with you, including handling enquiries, providing quotations, managing contracts, communicating service updates, and resolving any complaints or service issues. To process payments, issue invoices and statements, and maintain accounting and financial records. To comply with legal, regulatory and environmental obligations, including record keeping and reporting required by public authorities. To plan service routes, organise staffing and vehicles, and improve the efficiency and safety of our operations. To analyse service usage and improve our services and customer experience. To send you information about our services that may be of interest to you, where this is permitted by law or where you have given your consent.

Data retention and storage

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to meet our legal, accounting and reporting obligations. The specific retention period will depend on the nature of the data and the context in which it is processed.

In general, contact and account information linked to a service contract is kept for the duration of your relationship with us and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with any queries, disputes or legal claims. Financial and transactional records are typically retained for a number of years in line with tax and accounting requirements. Correspondence and communications related to complaints, incidents or legal matters may be retained for longer where this is necessary to protect our legal rights. When personal data is no longer required, we will securely delete or anonymise it in a way that means it can no longer be associated with you.

Data processors and sharing of your information

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors on our behalf. These processors can include payment processing providers, IT and software support providers, secure data hosting and email service providers, and subcontractors who help deliver our waste collection services. Where we use data processors, they are only permitted to process your personal data in accordance with our instructions and for the purposes we specify, and they must implement appropriate security measures to protect your information.

We may also share personal data with professional advisers such as accountants, auditors or legal advisers where this is necessary to obtain professional services, and with public authorities, regulators or law enforcement agencies where we are required to do so by law or in order to protect our rights or the rights of others. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.

International transfers

Where we use service providers who are located outside the United Kingdom or who store data in other countries, we take steps to ensure that an adequate level of protection is in place for your personal data. This may include using countries that have been recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection or entering into standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards approved by data protection authorities.

How we protect your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include limiting access to personal data to those employees and processors who need it for their roles, using secure systems and devices, applying appropriate access controls and authentication, and regularly reviewing our security practices. While no system can be completely secure, we continually assess and improve our safeguards to help protect your information.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal data. These rights apply to all Waste Disposal Surrey customers and individuals in our operating area, subject to certain legal limitations and exemptions. Your rights include:

The right of access, which allows you to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you and information about how it is processed. The right to rectification, which allows you to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data. The right to erasure, in certain circumstances, which allows you to request that we delete your personal data where there is no longer a lawful basis for us to keep it. The right to restrict processing, which allows you to ask us to suspend the use of your data in particular situations. The right to data portability, which allows you to receive certain personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible. The right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing, including profiling. The right to withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing.

Exercising your rights and contacting us

If you wish to exercise any of your data protection rights, or if you have any questions or concerns about how we handle your personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided on our main customer communications. To help us respond efficiently, please provide enough information to identify yourself and explain your request clearly. We may need to verify your identity before responding, particularly where the request involves access to personal data. We aim to respond to all valid requests within the time limits set by law.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, we encourage you to contact us in the first instance so we can try to resolve your concerns. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority in the United Kingdom if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, technology, or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will take appropriate steps to bring them to your attention. The latest version of this Privacy Policy will always apply to the personal data we hold about you.