Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

garbage-collection.org/ is an independent informational guide that publishes practical, step-by-step guides to municipal garbage, recycling, organics, and yard-waste collection across Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories. We are the business and the controller for the personal information described on this page.

For any privacy-related question, contact us at info@garbage-collection.org with the subject line “Privacy request” and we will respond within the time limits set out below.

2. Scope of This Policy

3. The Personal Information We Collect About You

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information as defined under Quebec Law 25 (health, biometrics, intimate-nature data) or other Canadian privacy frameworks. We do not ask for it and you should not send it through our contact channel.

4. PIPEDA — Federal Framework

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law. PIPEDA applies to organizations that collect, use, or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities, including across provincial and national borders. PIPEDA is built on ten Fair Information Principles: Accountability, Identifying Purposes, Consent, Limiting Collection, Limiting Use/Disclosure/Retention, Accuracy, Safeguards, Openness, Individual Access, and Challenging Compliance.

garbage-collection.org/ commits to those ten principles in how we handle your personal information.

5. Quebec — Law 25 (formerly Bill 64)

If you are a Quebec resident, the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, as modernized by Law 25 (formerly Bill 64), applies. Law 25 is enforced by the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (CAI) and gives Quebec residents rights similar to the EU GDPR:

• Right of access to personal information held about you
• Right of rectification of inaccurate personal information
• Right to deletion of personal information
• Right to data portability in a structured, technologically common format
• Right to be informed about and object to automated decision-making using personal information
• Right to withdraw consent for processing of personal information
• Confidentiality by default — tracking technologies are not loaded without affirmative opt-in consent

To exercise Quebec privacy rights, email us with subject “Quebec Law 25 request.” We respond within 30 days. Escalation: the CAI at cai.gouv.qc.ca.

Quebec also has a private right of action for Law 25 violations with statutory damages starting at $1,000 per individual.

6. Other Provincial Privacy Laws

Three provinces have private-sector privacy laws deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA:

Other provinces also have public-sector privacy laws that apply to municipalities (such as Ontario MFIPPA), but those laws apply to the municipality holding the record — not to us.

7. How We Collect Personal Information

• Directly from you — when you email us, complete a contact form, or set cookie preferences
• Automatically — when you visit the site, your browser sends standard technical information so the page can load
• From third-party services we use — analytics and advertising providers, but only after you have given consent through our cookie banner (and only after affirmative opt-in for Quebec residents under Law 25)

8. Identified Purposes for Collection and Use

Under PIPEDA, we identify the purposes for which we collect personal information at or before the time of collection. The purposes are:

• Providing the website and its content
• Responding to questions, corrections, and feedback
• Securing the site and protecting against abuse, fraud, and unauthorized access
• Auditing interactions and measuring site performance (analytics, where consented)
• Supporting display advertising that funds the site (where consented)
• Complying with legal obligations and responding to lawful requests

We do not use personal information for automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects.

9. Who We Share Personal Information With

10. Cross-Border Transfers

Some service providers we use (hosting, analytics, advertising, CDN) are based outside Canada — primarily in the United States and the European Union. PIPEDA permits cross-border transfers with comparable protection through contractual safeguards. Under Quebec Law 25, before transferring personal information of a Quebec resident outside Quebec, organizations must conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and inform the data subject. We have assessed our service providers’ frameworks and apply contractual safeguards.

11. Cookies, Analytics, and Advertising

For full detail — including the cookies used, third-party services, and how to manage them — see our Cookie Policy. Key controls: the cookie banner (with affirmative opt-in for Quebec residents), the “Cookie settings” link in the footer, browser-level controls, and the Global Privacy Control signal.

12. Email and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) governs commercial electronic messages sent to or from Canada. We do not send unsolicited commercial electronic messages. If we ever start an email newsletter, we will only send it to subscribers who have provided express consent, and every message will include the sender identification, contact information, and an unsubscribe mechanism required by CASL. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) enforces CASL — see crtc.gc.ca for guidance.

13. How Long We Keep Personal Information

14. Your Rights Under Canadian Privacy Law

15. How to Exercise Your Rights

For all privacy requests, email info@garbage-collection.org with the subject line indicating the relevant law (e.g., “PIPEDA request” or “Quebec Law 25 request”). Include enough information for us to identify the data you’re asking about. We may need to verify your identity before responding — most commonly by confirming you control the email address that submitted the request. We respond:

• PIPEDA — within 30 days of receiving the request, with a possible 30-day extension
• Quebec Law 25 — within 30 days of receiving the request
• BC PIPA / Alberta PIPA — within 30 business days of receiving the request

16. Children’s Privacy

This site is not directed at children. Under Quebec Law 25, the consent of a person with parental authority is required before collecting personal information from a child under 14. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without proper consent, we will delete it promptly.

17. Breach Notification

Under PIPEDA, organizations must report breaches of security safeguards involving personal information that pose a “real risk of significant harm” to the affected individuals to the OPC and notify the affected individuals as soon as feasible. Under Quebec Law 25, organizations must notify the CAI and affected Quebec residents of any “confidentiality incident” presenting a risk of serious injury, and maintain a register of all incidents. We follow these requirements.

18. Security Safeguards

Under PIPEDA Principle 7 (Safeguards), we apply security measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the information: encryption of data in transit (HTTPS across the site), access controls on administrative tools, regular software updates, secure authentication for our editorial team, and contractual security commitments from vendors.

19. Changes to This Policy

We update this policy when our practices change or when Canadian privacy laws change. The “Last reviewed” date at the top reflects the current version. Substantive changes will be flagged on the homepage banner for at least 30 days. This policy is read alongside our Cookie Policy, Terms of Service, and Disclaimer.