Legal notice · Rethink & Reuse

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Rethink & Reuse collects, uses, and stores personal data when you visit rethinkandreuse.co.uk. It applies to visitors, readers, and anyone who contacts us through the site.

This page does not cover third-party sites we link to; those sites publish their own policies. If you have read enough and want to reach the editors directly, the contact details sit in the panel beside this text and on our contact page.

Last reviewed September 2026 Applies to rethinkandreuse.co.uk UK GDPR

On this page

What data we collect
How we use your data
Legal basis for processing
How long we keep data
Your rights
Third-party services
Data security
Changes to this policy

Clean glass jars drying on a cloth beside a crate of loose vegetables on a UK kitchen worktop — Our guides are published for households, not for advertisers

What data we collect

We collect two categories of data. First, information you provide voluntarily: your name, email address, and message when you use the contact form. Second, technical information collected automatically by our hosting provider and analytics tools: IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and the time of visit.

We do not collect payment information or any special category data. Readers often write to ask about a zero waste living topic, suggest a correction, or request a guide on how to reduce household waste in a specific situation — the message itself is the only free-text field we store.

Provided by you Name, email address, and the wording of your message.
Collected automatically IP address, browser and device type, pages viewed, and visit time.
Never collected Payment details, financial records, or special category data.

How we use your data

From the contact form

Answering you, and improving the guides

We use contact form data solely to respond to your message and, where you have suggested a topic or correction, to update our content — for example when a reader points out an outdated council recycling detail.

From analytics and logs

Keeping the site running and readable

We use technical data to understand which guides are useful, to detect abuse, and to keep the site online. Aggregate page-view numbers tell us whether a beginner guide on zero waste tips for beginners is being found and read.

We do not sell personal data, and we do not use it to build advertising profiles. There is no remarketing list built from this site, no data broker arrangement, and no sale of reader emails.

Legal basis for processing

Under UK GDPR, we process contact form data on the basis of legitimate interest (responding to your enquiry) or, where you have asked us to do something, on the basis of your consent. Technical data is processed on the basis of legitimate interest in maintaining and improving the site.

What this means in practice

Legitimate interest means we have a real reason to read your email and reply to it, and we keep that reason narrow. We do not combine your message with analytics data, and we do not keep a marketing list. If you would rather we did not hold the message at all, say so in the message and we will delete it once we have answered.

How long we keep data

Retention is deliberately simple. Nothing here is kept indefinitely, and nothing is kept because it might be useful one day.

Contact messages: Retained for up to twenty-four months, then deleted, unless they relate to an ongoing correction or a legal matter.
Analytics data: Retained according to the provider's default retention period, which is currently up to fourteen months.
Server logs: Held for a shorter period by our hosting provider for security and troubleshooting only.

Your rights

You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you, to ask for it to be corrected, to ask for it to be deleted, to restrict or object to processing, and to request portability. You can exercise any of these rights by contacting us through the site. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe your data has been handled improperly.

1How do I ask for a copy of my data?

Write to us through the contact form, or email [email protected], and describe what you would like to see. Because we hold so little, a request is usually quick: in most cases the only record is the message you sent and our reply. We answer within thirty days, in line with UK GDPR requirements.

2Can I ask you to delete my message?

Yes. Send a short note saying you would like the message removed and we will delete it from the inbox and from any related note, unless we are required to keep it for a legal matter. If your message contained a correction we have already published, the published guide stays up; only your personal details are removed.

3What if I am not happy with the response?

Tell us first so we can put it right. If you are still dissatisfied, you can raise the matter with the Information Commissioner's Office, the UK regulator for data protection, which handles complaints about how personal data is used.

Cookies and tracking

The site uses cookies and similar technologies. For details on what we use and how to control them, see our Cookie Policy, which lists each category and explains what happens if you turn them off. You can change your cookie preferences at any time in your browser settings, though some site functionality may be affected.

Necessary cookies

Required for the site to load, remember your cookie choice, and serve pages correctly. These stay on.

Analytics cookies

Show us which guides get read and where readers leave. Optional, and you can decline them without losing access to any guide.

Third-party services

We use a hosting provider to serve the site, a content management system to publish guides, and an analytics service to understand traffic. These providers process data on our behalf under their own terms. Where we link to third-party sites — for example, a council recycling page or a supplier of plastic free alternatives — we are not responsible for their privacy practices.

Hosting Keeps the site online and records basic server logs for security.

Content management Stores and publishes the guides you read, including any images used on this site.

Analytics Reports aggregated page views so we know which topics to cover next.

External links Sites we link out to have their own policies; check those before sharing anything with them.

Data security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the data we hold, including encryption in transit and access controls on the systems we use. Only the editors who need to read and reply to messages have access to the contact inbox. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or the law. The current version is the one published on this page. Material changes will be noted on the site, and the review date at the top of this page will change with them.

How to contact us

Ask about your data, or ask about a guide

For any privacy-related question or request, use the contact form on the site. We aim to respond within thirty days, in line with UK GDPR requirements. The same form is the right place to suggest a topic — a reader question about low waste home guide coverage, a composting food scraps at home method that did not work for you, or a sustainable lifestyle habits tip worth adding.

If you would rather write to us directly, our address and email are listed in the panel at the top of this page. Please do not send payment details or identity documents — we have no reason to hold them.