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Waste management customer enquiries privacy notice

This notice explains what personal data (information) we hold about you, how we collect, how we use and may share information about you.  We are required to give you this information under data protection law.

Who we are

Kent County Council (KCC) collects, uses and is responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so we are regulated under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and we are responsible as ‘controller’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws. Our Data Protection Officer is Benjamin Watts.

Waste Management help people to manage their waste, encourage the use of waste as a resource in synergy with economic and housing growth in Kent plus ensure a robust, commercial approach to commissioning, performance and delivery throughout the service.

We currently manage 18 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and 6 transfer stations and closed landfill sites across Kent. The sites are operated by contracting parties under the remit of Kent County Council.

Personal information we collect and use

Information collected by us

During the processing of an enquiry, complaint or comment or the recording of a compliment regarding one of our waste management services, KCC collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

  • your contact details - e.g. name, postal address, email address and telephone number
  • your vehicle details - e.g. vehicle registration plate number, type of vehicle etc.

In some cases, information may be collated by one of our contractors and shared with us for the sole purpose of responding to your enquiry only. Information is shared securely and is not held by the contractor unless the enquiry is for them to respond to.

How we use your personal information

We use your personal data to:

  • investigate a reported enquiry, complaint or comment regarding our Waste Management services
  • record a compliment
  • deliver waste management services and support to you.
  • train and manage the employment of our workers who deliver those services
  • help investigate any worries or complaints you have about your services
  • keep track of spending on services
  • check the quality of services
  • help with research and planning of new services

In some cases, data may be collated by one of our contractors or our contact centre. Data may be shared using a secure link and data is not held by our contractors. Data could be shared in relation to a waste enquiry only such as opening times or a general enquiry.

How long your personal data will be kept

We will hold your personal information securely and retain it for 6 years in accordance with our retention schedule prior to it being securely destroyed. If the information is shared with a KCC contractor to respond to an enquiry, the information will be disposed of securely in line with their retention schedules. Information will not be shared without customer agreement.

Reasons we can collect and use your personal information

The provision of personal information is required from you to enable us to understand clearly the nature of your enquiry, comment or complaint or to record a compliment you may have made.

We rely on processing is ‘necessary for the performance of a public task in the public interest’ being the lawful basis on which we collect and use your personal information.

We rely on:

Article 6(1)(e) – Performance of a public task in the public interest.

Who we share your personal information with

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required to do so by applicable law.This data sharing enables us to then investigate any reported waste management complaints or enquiries.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have rights which you can exercise free of charge which allow you to:

  • know what we are doing with your information and why we are doing it
  • ask to see what information we hold about you (subject access request)
  • ask us to correct any mistakes in the information we hold about you
  • object to direct marketing
  • make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office

Depending on our reason for using your information you may also be entitled to:

  • ask us to delete information we hold about you
  • have your information transferred electronically to yourself or to another organisation
  • object to decisions being made that significantly affect you
  • object to how we are using your information
  • stop us using your information in certain ways

We will always seek to comply with your request however we may be required to hold or use your information to comply with legal duties. Please note, your request may delay or prevent us delivering a service to you.

For further information about your rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individuals’ rights under GDPR.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

Contact

Please contact the Information Resilience and Transparency Team at data.protection@kent.gov.uk to exercise any of your rights, or if you have a complaint about why your information has been collected, how it has been used or how long we have kept it for.

You can contact our Data Protection Officer, Benjamin Watts, at dpo@kent.gov.uk, or write to: Data Protection Officer, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XQ.

GDPR also gives you right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. The supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner who may be contacted on 03031 231113.

Read our corporate privacy statement.