Waste Collection Merton Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Collection Merton collects, uses, discloses and protects your personal data when you use our waste collection and related services in the Merton area. It applies to all Waste Collection Merton customers located in our service area, including residential and commercial customers, and to anyone who contacts us or interacts with us about our services.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent way, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and relevant data protection legislation.

Who we are and how to contact us

Waste Collection Merton is the organisation responsible for providing waste collection, recycling, and related services within the Merton area. For the purposes of data protection law, Waste Collection Merton is the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal data, or if you wish to exercise your data protection rights, you can contact us using the contact details provided on your service documentation or account correspondence.

Personal data we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you when you use our services or contact us:

Identification and contact details, such as your name, address, property details, email address, telephone number and preferred contact method.

Service and account information, such as your customer or account number, service address, collection schedules, bin types or capacities, service preferences, records of service use, and any special service arrangements such as assisted collections.

Payment and billing details, such as billing address, payment method and payment history. Card details are processed securely by our payment processors and we do not store full card information.

Communication records, such as enquiries, complaints, requests for service changes, feedback and any correspondence by phone, email, post or through forms you complete.

Technical and usage data, where you use online services, such as IP address, device information and basic usage information required to operate and secure our online services.

Environmental and operational data, such as information about waste volumes, recycling participation, contamination reports and operational notes linked to your address, where relevant to the service we provide.

How we collect your data

We collect personal data directly from you when you request services, complete forms, contact us by telephone, email or in writing, or communicate with us in relation to your waste collection and related services.

We may also receive personal data from third parties where this is necessary to provide services or comply with our legal obligations, for example from local authorities, housing providers or other public bodies who are involved in the provision or funding of waste services in the Merton area.

In the course of providing and managing services, we may generate or infer additional data linked to your account or address, such as records of service delivery, service changes and operational notes.

Lawful bases for processing your data

We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract: to set up, manage and deliver waste collection and related services that you have requested or that are provided to your property. This includes handling your account, processing payments, and communicating with you about your service.

Legal obligation: to comply with legal duties placed on us under environmental, waste management, public health and related legislation. This may include recording and reporting certain information to public authorities where required by law.

Public task or exercise of official authority: where we are carrying out tasks in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority in relation to waste management and environmental services, in cooperation with local authorities and other public bodies.

Legitimate interests: to operate, improve and protect our services, to respond to your enquiries and complaints, to monitor service performance, to plan and manage resources, to prevent and detect misuse or fraud, and to keep appropriate records. When we rely on this basis, we ensure that our legitimate interests are balanced against your rights and freedoms.

Consent: in limited situations where we ask for your consent, for example for certain types of optional communications that are not necessary for providing your service. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time using the contact details provided in your service documentation.

How we use your personal data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To register you as a customer and set up and manage your waste collection and related services in the Merton area.

To plan, schedule and deliver waste, recycling and related collections to your property.

To manage billing and payments, including issuing invoices, processing payments and handling queries about charges.

To respond to your enquiries, requests and complaints and to provide customer support.

To monitor and improve service quality and performance, including reviewing participation levels, contamination levels and operational efficiencies.

To manage health and safety, security and operational risks associated with our services.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

To keep general records of service provision for audit, reporting and accountability purposes.

Data sharing and processors

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties where this is necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, always ensuring appropriate data protection measures are in place.

We may use external service providers acting as data processors to support our operations, for example:

IT and hosting providers who host and maintain our systems and data.

Customer service and contact centre providers who help us respond to your enquiries and manage customer communications.

Payment processors who handle payments securely on our behalf.

Operational contractors who support the collection, transport and processing of waste and recycling in the Merton area.

We may also share relevant data with local authorities, regulators, law enforcement or other public bodies where required by law, where necessary for the performance of a public task, or where we are otherwise legally permitted to do so.

We do not sell your personal data. If we ever need to transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with data protection law.

Data retention and storage

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of providing services, meeting legal, accounting or reporting requirements, and dealing with complaints or disputes.

In general, we keep customer and service records for a period consistent with legal requirements and good practice in the waste and environmental services sector. The exact retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose of processing. When we no longer need your personal data, we will either delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access.

Your data protection rights

You have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to the personal data we hold about you. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these include:

The right of access: you can request confirmation that we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, together with information about how we use it.

The right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.

The right to erasure: in certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete or remove your personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected.

The right to restriction: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain situations, for example while we are considering a request to rectify your data.

The right to object: you can object to our processing of your personal data where we rely on legitimate interests or on the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, including profiling associated with those bases, if you believe your rights override those interests.

The right to data portability: where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you can request that we provide your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format, or that we transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.

Where we rely on consent to process your data, you also have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

You can exercise your rights by contacting us using the details provided in your service documentation. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, how we process personal data, or changes in law or guidance. When we make significant changes, we will take appropriate steps to inform you, which may include updating information on our service materials or communicating with you directly where feasible.

The most current version of this Privacy Policy applies to all Waste Collection Merton customers in our service area and governs our use of your personal data.