Waste Disposal Elephant and Castle Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Waste Disposal Elephant and Castle collects, uses, stores and protects personal data relating to our waste collection and disposal services. It applies to all Waste Disposal Elephant and Castle customers and prospective customers located in the Elephant and Castle area who use, or enquire about, our services by phone, email, online forms or any other communication channels.

Who We Are

Waste Disposal Elephant and Castle provides waste collection, clearance and disposal services to residential and commercial customers in the Elephant and Castle area. For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, we act as the data controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

Personal Data We Collect

We collect and process different types of personal data in the course of providing our services. The main categories of data we may collect are:

Contact and identity details such as name, address, telephone number, email address, and, where relevant, business or organisation name and role.

Service information such as details of the location where waste is to be collected, access instructions, descriptions of the type and approximate volume of waste, preferred collection dates and times, and any special service requirements you share with us.

Account and billing details such as invoice address, payment status, payment method used, and records of transactions and invoices. Payment card details may be collected by our payment processor but are not stored by us directly.

Communication records such as emails, messages, call notes, and any feedback, reviews or complaints you send to us in relation to our services.

Technical and usage data such as basic device and browser information, approximate location data based on your address or collection point, and information generated when you interact with our online forms or digital communications where applicable.

How We Collect Personal Data

We collect personal data directly from you when you contact us to obtain a quote, make a booking, request information, sign up for updates, pay for services, or communicate with us in any other way. We may also collect data from third parties where you have authorised them to provide information to us, for example a property manager, landlord, managing agent or a business that books services on your behalf.

Lawful Basis for Processing

We only process personal data where we have a lawful basis under data protection law. Depending on the specific processing activity, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Performance of a contract. We process personal data when this is necessary to provide our services, including responding to enquiries, supplying quotes, taking bookings, completing collections, managing customer accounts, and handling payments and related administration.

Legitimate interests. We process personal data where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and where these are not overridden by your rights and interests. This may include improving our services, managing and developing our customer relationships, planning routes and capacity, preventing fraud and misuse, ensuring the security of our systems, and defending or enforcing legal claims.

Legal obligations. We process certain personal data to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including waste transfer documentation, tax and accounting rules, and responding to lawful requests from public authorities.

Consent. In situations where we rely on your consent, for example for certain types of direct marketing or optional communications, we will clearly explain what you are consenting to and you may withdraw your consent at any time.

How We Use Personal Data

We use personal data for the following purposes:

To provide waste disposal services, including accepting bookings, planning and carrying out collections, managing on-site access, issuing invoices and receipts, and communicating about service status or changes.

To handle customer service, including responding to enquiries, providing support, resolving issues, and processing complaints or disputes.

To manage our business operations, including record-keeping, route planning, service quality monitoring, staff training, and internal reporting.

To comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including waste transfer notes, environmental reporting obligations, tax, accounting and audit requirements, and responding to lawful information requests.

To send you information about our services, updates or offers where we are permitted to do so and where this is consistent with your preferences and applicable marketing rules.

Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal data. We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as data processors and support us in delivering our services. These may include:

Payment service providers who process card or electronic payments on our behalf.

IT and cloud service providers who host our systems, email and data storage, and provide technical support.

Operational partners such as subcontracted collection crews, logistics partners or recycling and disposal facilities, but only to the extent necessary for them to fulfil the service.

Professional advisers such as accountants, auditors, or legal advisers, when necessary for legitimate business or legal reasons.

Regulators, law enforcement agencies, public authorities or other third parties when we are legally required to disclose information or when disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, safety, or property, or that of others.

Where we use data processors, we require them to process personal data only in accordance with our instructions, to protect it appropriately, and to comply with applicable data protection laws.

International Data Transfers

If we transfer personal data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area, we will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with applicable data protection laws. These safeguards may include standard contractual clauses or other recognised transfer mechanisms. You may contact us for further details of such safeguards where applicable.

Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected and to meet our legal, accounting and regulatory obligations. In general:

Customer and service records, including contact details and booking history, are kept for the duration of our relationship with you and for a reasonable period afterwards to deal with queries, disputes or potential claims.

Financial and transactional records, including invoices and payment information, are kept for the period required by tax and accounting laws.

Communication records may be retained while they remain relevant to the services provided or any related issues, and for a reasonable period afterward in case of follow-up or disputes.

When personal data is no longer needed for these purposes, it will be securely deleted, anonymised, or otherwise removed from our systems.

Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage. These measures include access controls, secure storage, staff training and contractual safeguards with our data processors. While we endeavour to protect your information, no system can be completely secure and you should take care when sharing personal data with us.

Your Data Protection Rights

If you are a customer or prospective customer of Waste Disposal Elephant and Castle in the Elephant and Castle area, you have a number of rights under data protection law in relation to your personal data. Subject to certain conditions and exemptions, these rights include:

The right of access. You can request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a copy of that data, together with certain additional information.

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

The right to erasure. In certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete personal data, for example where it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.

The right to restriction of processing. You can ask us to restrict certain processing of your personal data, for example while we verify its accuracy or consider an objection you have raised.

The right to object. You can object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests, including profiling based on those interests, on grounds relating to your particular situation. You can also object at any time to the use of your data for direct marketing.

The right to data portability. Where processing is based on consent or on a contract and carried out by automated means, you may have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and to transmit it to another controller.

Where we rely on consent as the legal basis for processing, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

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 personal data, you can contact us using the contact details provided when you engage our services. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests to protect your information. We aim to respond to all valid requests within the time limits set by data protection law.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority if you believe that your personal data has been processed in a way that does not comply with data protection law. We encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve your concerns directly.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or how we process personal data. The updated version will apply from the date it is made available. We recommend that you check this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.