Site policy
Cookie Policy
This Cookie Policy explains how Rethink & Reuse uses cookies and similar technologies on rethinkandreuse.co.uk. It covers what cookies are, which ones we use, and how you can control them. It should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal data more generally.
Three cookie groups · one consent record
Definitions
Plain definitions first, so the rest of this page reads without a glossary open in another tab.
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They allow the site to remember your actions and preferences over time, such as your language or display settings. Some cookies are set by the site you're visiting; others are set by third-party services the site uses.
A cookie on its own does not identify you by name. What it usually holds is a short reference — a preference you picked, a session that is still open, a note that you have already answered a notice. That reference is meaningless outside rethinkandreuse.co.uk, which is why clearing your browser data removes it without affecting anything else you keep on your device.
- First-party
- Set by rethinkandreuse.co.uk itself. These cover the consent record and the session that keeps a page working while you browse our practical guides, from the Zero Waste Starter Guide to the Low Waste Home Guide.
- Session cookies
- Expire when you close your browser. They hold the state of a single visit and are not kept afterwards.
- Persistent cookies
- Stay on your device for a set period — for example, so you are not asked for the same preference on every page. You can delete them at any time from your browser settings.
Types of cookies we use
Three groups · nothing for profiling
Group one
Strictly necessary
These cookies are essential for the site to work. They include the cookie that records your consent choices, and any cookie used to keep a session active while you browse. These cannot be switched off through our cookie banner because the site cannot function correctly without them.
- Records the cookie choices you have already made, so the notice does not reappear on every visit.
- Keeps a page session stable while you move between an article and its photographs.
- Balances traffic across our servers so pages load reliably during a busy evening.
Analytics
We use analytics to see which pages are read, how long visitors stay, and which search terms bring people to the site. This data is aggregated and does not identify individual visitors. You can opt out via the cookie banner or by adjusting your browser settings. It helps us decide which of our Zero Waste Kitchen subjects to expand next.
Preferences
Preference cookies remember settings you've chosen, such as dismissing a notice or a reading layout you picked. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies for profiling, and we do not sell data gathered through analytics.
Outside services
Third-party cookies
Some features of the site may rely on third-party services, such as embedded video or social sharing buttons. These services may set their own cookies, which we do not control. We only use third parties that provide information about their cookie practices.
In practice that means: where a video or a share button appears, its provider decides what it stores and for how long, and their own policy governs it. We check that a provider publishes cookie information before we embed anything, and we keep the number of such services low. If you would rather not receive those cookies at all, your browser can block third-party cookies site by site — the page will still read, you may simply lose the embedded element.
Cookies are not the only thing a browser stores. Local storage and similar technologies work in much the same way for our purposes, so where this policy refers to cookies, it covers those too.
At a glance
What we never do
- Build a profile of you across other websites.
- Sell or rent data gathered through analytics.
- Use advertising cookies to target you after you leave.
- Hide an embedded service that sets its own cookies.
Managing your choice
Four questions we get asked most about switching cookies on and off.
How to control cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block third-party cookies, delete cookies on exit, and clear cookies manually. The steps differ by browser; your browser's help pages explain how. Blocking all cookies may affect how the site works.
Where do I change my cookie choices?
The cookie banner records what you allowed the first time you visited, and you can reopen it to change those choices at any time. Alongside that, your browser's own settings override anything a site asks for, so you can keep analytics switched off at browser level even if you have allowed it here.
Can I block every cookie and still read the site?
Blocking everything in your browser applies to all websites, so it will also sign you out of services you use elsewhere. Blocking only third-party cookies is usually the tidier option: our guides still open, and the difference is limited to embedded elements and the preference that stops the notice reappearing.
Does clearing my browser data affect this site?
No. Clearing cookies and site data deletes the consent record and any saved preferences, so the notice will ask you again on your next visit. Nothing you have read is lost, and no account is affected — we do not run one.
Are cookies used anywhere else on the site?
Not for advertising. The groups described above are the full set we plan around: necessary, analytics and preferences. If we ever add a service that stores something new, this page changes before that service goes live, and the change is noted on the site. For everything outside cookies, see the Privacy Policy.
Kept current
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy if we change the cookies we use or the services we rely on. The current version is the one published on this page. Where changes are material, we will note them on the site.
Small wording fixes and corrections do not need a notice. A new cookie group, a new embedded service, or a change to how long something is stored does, and in those cases the notice appears on the pages affected rather than only here. The date at the top of this page tells you when it last changed, so if you are checking whether something shifted, that line is the quickest answer.
Cookie questions
Ask the editors about cookies
If you have questions about this policy, use the contact form on the site. For broader privacy questions, see our Privacy Policy. We answer cookie questions from the same inbox as everything else, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Rethink & Reuse, 42 Bramley Road, London, N14 4HD, United Kingdom · [email protected] · +44 20 7946 0821
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