North Somerset Council is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for the purposes of processing personal data. We have instructed North Somerset Environment Company Ltd (NSEC), who carry out our waste collection service on our behalf, to take photos to evidence their reasons for a missed waste collection (for example a blocked road or a contaminated container).
While every effort is made to avoid any personal data within these photos, there are times when this is impossible, for example where a car registration or house number is in the shot, or if the waste container contains personal mail. We consider these photos, therefore, to be personal data, and are held and used in accordance with the requirements of UK and European data protection law. Where the photo is specific to your property, the photo will form part of your waste file, and be held for three months.
In accordance with Article 6(1)(f) of GDPR, we consider it to be in our legitimate business interests to take these photos. This is because we use the photos to demonstrate the service we have delivered, and without the photos, we would be unable to evidence why a collection was missed, or monitor the performance of our contractor. You do have the right to raise an objection to us holding a photo that contains your personal data or on your waste file. You also have the right to see the personal data we process about you, as well as the right of objection, rectification and restriction.