PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated October 15, 2025

This Privacy Notice for Garbage to Garden Inc. ("we," "us," or "our"), describes how and why we might access, collect, store, use, and/or share ("process") your personal information when you use our services ("Services"), including when you:

  • Visit our website at http://www.garbagetogarden.org or any website of ours that links to this Privacy Notice
  • Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events

Questions or concerns? Reading this Privacy Notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. We are responsible for making decisions about how your personal information is processed. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@garbagetogarden.org.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

This summary provides key points from our Privacy Notice, but you can find out more details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for.

What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. Learn more about personal information you disclose to us.

Do we process any sensitive personal information? We may process sensitive personal information when necessary with your consent or as otherwise permitted by applicable law. Learn more about sensitive information we process.

Do we collect any information from third parties? We may collect information from public databases, marketing partners, social media platforms, and other outside sources. Learn more about information collected from other sources.

How do we process your information? We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. Learn more about how we process your information.

In what situations and with which types of parties do we share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific categories of third parties. Learn more about when and with whom we share your personal information.

How do we keep your information safe? We have adequate organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Learn more about how we keep your information safe.

What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information. Learn more about your privacy rights.

How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way to exercise your rights is by visiting https://garbagetogarden.org/contact.php, or by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Want to learn more about what we do with any information we collect? Review the Privacy Notice in full.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
  2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
  3. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
  4. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?
  5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
  6. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
  7. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF A DATA BREACH?
  8. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
  9. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
  10. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
  11. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
  12. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND LINKS
  13. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
  14. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?
  15. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you register on the Services, express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.

Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:

  • names
  • phone numbers
  • email addresses
  • mailing addresses
  • usernames
  • passwords
  • billing addresses
  • debit/credit card numbers
  • contact or authentication data
  • contact preferences

Sensitive Information. When necessary, with your consent or as otherwise permitted by applicable law, we may process the following categories of sensitive information:

  • Account login credentials and payment information as described below
  • Demographic information including race or ethnic origin - We collect this information on a voluntary basis from some participants for specific purposes including municipal reporting requirements, program statistics, grant compliance, and to measure the effectiveness of our community outreach and environmental equity initiatives. This information is always optional, and you may decline to provide it without affecting your ability to use our Services.

Payment Data. We may collect data necessary to process your payment if you choose to make purchases, such as your payment instrument number and the security code associated with your payment instrument. All payment data is handled and stored by our payment processors. You may find their privacy notice links here:

Third-Party Service Providers. We use various third-party services to operate our business. These service providers have their own privacy policies governing how they use your information:

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information automatically collected

In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Service Area: We currently provide services exclusively in Maine and Massachusetts.

Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies. You can learn more about our use of cookies in the section "DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?"

The information we collect includes:

Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called "crash dumps"), and hardware settings).

Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.

Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device's location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). We use this information to optimize service delivery routes and ensure accurate pickup scheduling for our composting services. You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.

Third-Party Services and APIs

Google Services. Our use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We use Google Maps Platform APIs to provide accurate routing for our pickup services and to help you locate nearby drop-off locations.

Information collected from other sources

In Short: We may collect limited data from public databases, marketing partners, social media platforms, and other outside sources.

In order to enhance our ability to provide relevant marketing, offers, and services to you and update our records, we may obtain information about you from other sources, such as public databases, joint marketing partners, affiliate programs, data providers, social media platforms, and from other third parties. This information includes mailing addresses, job titles, email addresses, phone numbers, intent data (or user behavior data), Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, social media profiles, social media URLs, and custom profiles, for purposes of targeted advertising and event promotion.

If you interact with us on a social media platform using your social media account (e.g., Facebook or X), we receive personal information about you from such platforms such as your name, email address, and gender. Any personal information that we collect from your social media account depends on your social media account's privacy settings. Please note that their own use of your information is not governed by this Privacy Notice.

2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

  • To facilitate account creation and authentication and otherwise manage user accounts. We may process your information so you can create and log in to your account, as well as keep your account in working order.
  • To deliver and facilitate delivery of services to the user. We may process your information to provide you with the requested service, including scheduling pickups, managing your composting service subscription, and coordinating delivery logistics.
  • To enable service delivery through drivers and field personnel. Our drivers and field personnel have access to limited customer information necessary to fulfill service obligations. Specifically:
    • Drivers can only view the address and service details for the specific customer they are currently serving
    • Drivers do not have access to customer lists or information for customers they are not actively servicing
    • Drivers document service completion in our system, noting whether bins were set out and whether service was completed
    • Drivers do not take photographs during service
    • We conduct driving record checks for all drivers as part of our hiring process
    • Background checks may be conducted if there is cause for concern
    • All company vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking through Verizon Reveal to optimize routes, ensure driver safety, and verify service completion
  • Curbside service model. Our service is curbside pickup only. We do not collect or store gate codes, access codes, or entry instructions. We do not knock on doors or enter properties. We do not collect emergency contact information.
  • To respond to user inquiries/offer support to users. We may process your information to respond to your inquiries and solve any potential issues you might have with the requested service.
  • To send administrative information to you. We may process your information to send you details about our products and services, changes to our terms and policies, and other similar information.
  • To fulfill and manage your orders. We may process your information to fulfill and manage your orders, payments, returns, and exchanges made through the Services. We operate on a monthly subscription basis. If a payment fails, we will contact you to update your payment information so we can continue providing service. We do not send accounts to collections agencies or perform credit checks.
  • Service pauses and holds. Customers may request to pause service depending on the length of the requested pause. During a service pause, we retain your account information to facilitate service resumption.
  • To enable user-to-user communications. We may process your information if you choose to use any of our offerings that allow for communication with another user.
  • To request feedback. We may process your information when necessary to request feedback and to contact you about your use of our Services.
  • Customer reviews and ratings. Customers may choose to leave reviews and ratings about our Services on third-party platforms such as Google, Yelp, and Meta (Facebook). When you post a review on these platforms, your review and any information you include (such as your name, profile photo, and rating) will be governed by that platform's privacy policy, not ours. We may respond to reviews publicly on these platforms. We do not control what information you choose to share in your reviews.
  • Testimonials and marketing materials. We may use customer quotes, feedback, and testimonials in our marketing materials, website, and promotional content. We will only use your testimonial with your explicit consent. We do not post customer photos on social media without obtaining explicit written consent via email. If you provide consent for us to use your testimonial or photo, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us.
  • Referral programs. We may offer referral incentives in the future. If we implement a referral program, we will update this Privacy Notice accordingly. Note that when one customer refers another, we do not automatically share any personal information between the referring customer and the referred customer without consent.
  • Equipment and bins. We offer to provide bins for our services, though customers may choose to use their own containers. For bins we provide:
    • We do not track bin serial numbers or use RFID or other electronic tracking on bins
    • If a bin we provided is lost or damaged, we may charge a replacement fee
    • We do not collect or store information about customer-owned containers
  • To send you marketing and promotional communications. We may process the personal information you send to us for our marketing purposes, if this is in accordance with your marketing preferences. We send both transactional emails (service-related notifications, billing, account updates) and marketing emails (newsletters, promotions, service updates). You can opt out of our marketing emails at any time while still receiving necessary transactional communications. For more information, see "WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?" below.
  • Community events and outreach. When we participate in community events, farmers markets, or similar outreach activities, we may collect your name and email address if you express interest in our services. This information is used to follow up about service sign-up or to add you to our email list with your consent.
  • To deliver targeted advertising to you. We may process your information to develop and display personalized content and advertising tailored to your interests, location, and more. This includes sharing information with advertising platforms to show you relevant ads on their networks and potentially across multiple devices you use.
  • To identify usage trends. We may process information about how you use our Services to better understand how they are being used so we can improve them.
  • To determine the effectiveness of our marketing and promotional campaigns. We may process your information to better understand how to provide marketing and promotional campaigns that are most relevant to you.
  • For municipal reporting and program compliance. When you voluntarily provide demographic information, we may use this data in aggregated, anonymized form to fulfill municipal reporting requirements, comply with grant obligations, and measure the reach and effectiveness of our environmental programs across different communities.
  • To communicate with you via phone and text messages. We may send you service-related text messages (SMS) and phone calls, including:
    • Pickup reminders and schedule changes
    • Service notifications and account updates
    • Customer support responses
    • Billing and payment reminders

Phone Calls: We do not record phone calls with customers. When you call us or we call you, your conversations are not recorded or stored. We do not use autodialed calls or prerecorded messages.

Text Messaging Consent: By providing your phone number and opting in to receive text messages, you consent to receive text messages from Garbage to Garden at the phone number you provided. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time by texting STOP to any message you receive from us or by contacting us. We use Twilio to send these messages.

Important: You are not required to consent to receive promotional or marketing text messages as a condition of using our Services. Service-related messages (such as pickup notifications) may still be sent if necessary for service delivery.

3. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following categories of third parties.

Vendors, Consultants, and Other Third-Party Service Providers. We may share your data with third-party vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents ("third parties") who perform services for us or on our behalf and require access to such information to do that work. The categories of third parties we may share personal information with are as follows:

  • Ad Networks and Advertising Platforms - Including but not limited to Google Ads, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Nextdoor, AdRoll, and other digital advertising platforms. We share information such as hashed email addresses, device identifiers, and behavioral data to create custom audiences, deliver targeted advertisements, measure ad performance, and conduct retargeting campaigns.
  • Sales & Marketing Tools - Including HubSpot (customer relationship management and marketing automation), My Emma (email marketing platform), and similar marketing service providers. These platforms may receive contact information, communication preferences, and interaction data. Customer data is stored in HubSpot.
  • Communication Services - Including Twilio (SMS and phone communications). We share phone numbers and message content necessary to deliver service notifications, appointment reminders, and customer communications.
  • Fleet Management and GPS Tracking - We use Verizon Reveal to track company vehicles via GPS. This service receives real-time vehicle location data to optimize routes, ensure driver safety, monitor service completion, and improve operational efficiency.
  • Route Optimization Software - We use proprietary route optimization tools and Stop Suite (for commercial service only) to plan efficient service routes. These systems receive customer addresses and service schedules.
  • Website and Content Management - Our website and certain customer data are managed through Drupal content management system. We use multiple web hosting providers: Bluehost hosts our main website, Liquid Web hosts our Drupal platform, and InMotion Hosting hosts our WordPress site.
  • Social Networks
  • Communication & Collaboration Tools
  • Data Storage Service Providers
  • Data Analytics Services
  • Payment Processors
  • Retargeting and Conversion Tracking Services
  • Municipal Partners and Waste Management Authorities - We share necessary service information (such as your address, pickup schedule, and service status) with municipal partners and waste management authorities in jurisdictions where we operate under municipal contracts or coordinate with local waste management programs. This sharing is necessary to fulfill our service obligations and comply with local waste management regulations.

We also may need to share your personal information in the following situations:

  • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
  • Legal Requests and Compliance. We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. This includes responding to:
    • Subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes
    • Requests from law enforcement or government agencies
    • Legal obligations to prevent fraud, protect our rights, or ensure public safety
    • Enforcement of our terms of service and other agreements
  • Where legally permitted, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you before disclosing your information in response to such requests. However, we may be prohibited from doing so by law or court order.
  • Insurance Claims. In the event of an incident such as property damage during service, we will collect and document detailed incident information including the address, time of day, and a comprehensive incident report with all necessary details. This information will be shared with our insurance company as required to process claims and fulfill our insurance obligations.
  • When we use Google Maps Platform APIs. We may share your information with certain Google Maps Platform APIs (e.g., Google Maps API, Places API) to provide routing, scheduling, and location services. Google Maps uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers to estimate your location. GPS is accurate to about 20 meters, while Wi-Fi and cell towers help improve accuracy when GPS signals are weak, like indoors. This data helps us provide accurate pickup scheduling and route optimization.

4. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?

In Short: We may use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect and store your information.

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons, pixels, and tags) to gather information when you interact with our Services. Some online tracking technologies help us maintain the security of our Services and your account, prevent crashes, fix bugs, save your preferences, and assist with basic site functions.

We also permit third parties and service providers to use online tracking technologies on our Services for analytics and advertising, including to help manage and display advertisements, to tailor advertisements to your interests, or to send abandoned shopping cart reminders (depending on your communication preferences). The third parties and service providers use their technology to provide advertising about products and services tailored to your interests which may appear either on our Services or on other websites.

Advertising Pixels and Tracking

We use advertising pixels, tags, and similar technologies from various advertising platforms including:

  • Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) - Tracks conversions from Facebook and Instagram ads, builds custom audiences, and enables retargeting
  • Google Ads Conversion Tracking - Measures the effectiveness of Google advertising campaigns and enables remarketing
  • Nextdoor Pixel - Tracks engagement and conversions from Nextdoor advertising
  • AdRoll Pixel - Enables cross-platform retargeting and conversion tracking
  • Other advertising platform pixels - We may add or remove advertising partners; this list represents common platforms we use

These pixels collect information about your browsing activity, device information, and interactions with our ads and Services. This information may be used to:

  • Deliver targeted advertisements to you on third-party platforms
  • Create custom audiences and lookalike audiences for advertising purposes
  • Measure ad campaign effectiveness and return on investment
  • Retarget visitors who have previously interacted with our Services
  • Track conversions and attribute them to specific advertising campaigns

Cookie Categories

We use the following types of cookies:

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies: Required for the website to function properly
  • Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our Services through Google Analytics and similar tools
  • Marketing/Advertising Cookies: Used to track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements and measure campaign performance
  • Social Media Cookies: Enable sharing of content on social media platforms and may track your activity across sites

Managing Cookies

Cookie Consent Banner: We will be implementing a cookie consent banner on our website to allow you to manage your cookie preferences when you first visit our site.

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies through your browser settings. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Services.

To the extent these online tracking technologies are deemed to be a "sale"/"sharing" (which includes targeted advertising, as defined under the applicable laws) under applicable US state laws, you can opt out of these online tracking technologies by submitting a request as described below under section "DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?"

Third-Party Advertising Opt-Out Resources

You can also opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies through:

Google Analytics

We may share your information with Google Analytics to track and analyze the use of the Services. We have enabled IP anonymization (also known as IP masking) in Google Analytics, which means Google Analytics anonymizes your IP address as soon as technically feasible at the earliest possible stage of the collection network. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across the Services, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms page.

5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements). No purpose in this notice will require us keeping your personal information for longer than the period of time in which users have an account with us.

Service Cancellation vs Account Deletion:

  • If you cancel service but maintain your account, we retain your information so you can easily restart service in the future.
  • If you request account deletion, we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases. However, we may retain some information in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our legal terms, and/or comply with applicable legal requirements.

Financial and Transaction Records: Even after account termination, we may retain financial and transaction records for up to seven (7) years to comply with legal, tax, and accounting requirements.

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

6. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

7. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF A DATA BREACH?

In Short: We will notify you and appropriate authorities if a data breach occurs that affects your personal information, in accordance with applicable law.

In the event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will take the following steps:

Investigation and Containment: Upon discovering a potential data breach, we will immediately investigate the incident, contain the breach, and assess what information may have been affected.

Notification: If we determine that your personal information has been compromised in a way that poses a risk of harm, we will notify you without unreasonable delay and as required by applicable law. Notification will be sent via email to the address associated with your account, and may also include notification through our website or other appropriate means.

Information Provided: Our breach notification will include, to the extent possible:

  • A description of what happened
  • The types of personal information that were involved
  • Steps we have taken to address the breach
  • Recommendations for steps you can take to protect yourself
  • Contact information for you to reach us with questions

Regulatory Notification: We will also notify appropriate regulatory authorities and law enforcement as required by applicable laws, typically within 72 hours of discovering the breach where required.

Remediation: We will take appropriate steps to remediate the breach, which may include enhancing security measures, conducting additional security audits, and providing resources to affected individuals such as credit monitoring services if warranted by the nature of the breach.

While we maintain comprehensive security measures and response plans, we encourage you to remain vigilant about protecting your account credentials and to report any suspicious activity to us immediately at info@garbagetogarden.org.

8. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.

We do not knowingly collect, solicit data from, or market to children under 18 years of age, nor do we knowingly sell such personal information. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent's use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at info@garbagetogarden.org.

9. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time, depending on your country, province, or state of residence.

Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section "HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?" below.

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

Opting out of marketing and promotional communications: You can unsubscribe from our marketing and promotional communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send, replying "STOP" or "UNSUBSCRIBE" to the SMS messages that we send, or by contacting us using the details provided in the section "HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?" below. You will then be removed from the marketing lists. However, we may still communicate with you — for example, to send you service-related messages that are necessary for the administration and use of your account, to respond to service requests, or for other non-marketing purposes.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information sharing to subcontractors in support services, such as customer service, is permitted. All other use case categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with third parties.

Account Information

Household Accounts: We permit one account per household. Multiple members of a household may access and use a single account, but only one account should be created per service address. If multiple people in your household need access to the account, we recommend sharing login credentials securely among household members.

Multi-Unit Properties: For multi-unit properties such as apartment buildings, condominiums, or townhomes, each individual resident is responsible for setting up and managing their own account if they wish to use our services. We do not create master accounts for property managers or landlords to manage multiple tenant accounts.

If you would at any time like to review or change the information in your account or terminate your account, you can:

  • Log in to your account settings and update your user account.
  • Contact us using the contact information provided.

Upon your request to terminate your account, we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases. However, we may retain some information in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our legal terms and/or comply with applicable legal requirements.

Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Services.

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at info@garbagetogarden.org.

10. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track ("DNT") feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage, no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Notice.

California law requires us to let you know how we respond to web browser DNT signals. Because there currently is not an industry or legal standard for recognizing or honoring DNT signals, we do not respond to them at this time.

11. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: We operate exclusively in Maine and Massachusetts. While these states do not currently have comprehensive consumer privacy laws like some other states, you still have certain rights regarding your personal information as described in this Privacy Notice.

We are committed to transparency and giving you control over your personal information, regardless of whether you are covered by a specific state privacy law. You may:

  • Request access to the personal information we have collected about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate personal information
  • Request deletion of your personal information (subject to certain legal exceptions)
  • Opt out of marketing and promotional communications
  • Withdraw consent where we rely on consent to process your information

How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise these rights, you can contact us by visiting https://garbagetogarden.org/contact.php, by emailing us at info@garbagetogarden.org, or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document.

To opt out of targeted advertising, you can:

  • Adjust your cookie preferences through your browser settings
  • Use the opt-out links provided in Section 4 for specific advertising platforms (Google, Facebook, DAA, NAI)
  • Enable Global Privacy Control (GPC) in your browser
  • Contact us directly at info@garbagetogarden.org

Please note that opting out of targeted advertising does not mean you will stop seeing ads; it means the ads you see will be less relevant to your interests.

Request Verification

Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes.

12. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND LINKS

In Short: Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources, including but not limited to:

  • Payment processor websites
  • Social media platforms
  • Municipal partner sites
  • Product or service recommendations
  • Educational resources
  • Other external websites

These third-party sites have their own privacy policies and terms of use. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or security of these external sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit through links on our site. Providing a link to a third-party website does not constitute an endorsement of that site or its content.

13. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Revised" date at the top of this Privacy Notice. If we make material changes to this Privacy Notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

14. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at info@garbagetogarden.org or contact us by post at:

Garbage to Garden Inc.
352 Presumpscot Street
Portland, ME 04103
United States

15. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

Based on the applicable laws of your country or state of residence in the US, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, details about how we have processed it, correct inaccuracies, or delete your personal information. You may also have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information. These rights may be limited in some circumstances by applicable law.

Data Portability Format: If you request a copy of your personal information, we will provide it to you in CSV (comma-separated values) format, which can be easily opened in spreadsheet applications or imported into other systems.

To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please visit: https://garbagetogarden.org/contact.php