Updated: 24/09/26
Compost Magazine (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the Compost Magazine website at compostmagazine.com (the “Service”). This page explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, who handles it on our behalf, and what rights you have over it.
We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy.
Who We Are
Compost Magazine is an independent publication run by James Dunworth. We are the data controller for the information described on this page. You can reach us through our contact page.
Information We Collect
When you subscribe to our newsletter. We collect your name and email address so that we can send you updates and other content relevant to the Service. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send.
When you use our contact form. We receive the name, email address and message that you send us, and we use them only to reply to you.
When you send us a report about a composting product. We run a reader report form so that owners can tell us what a product has been like to live with. If you use it, we collect:
- the product you are writing about, what you tell us about living with it, anything you would change about it, and your star rating of it
- your answers to short questions about how long you have owned the product, what you put in it, rodents, breakages, whether you would buy it again, whether you received it free or hold a referral code for it, and whether anyone asked you to send the report or offered you anything for it
- any photographs you choose to attach
- the name or nickname you would like us to publish, if you give one
- your rough location, if you give one
- your email address, if you give one
- a record of which page on our site you were on when you opened the form
Five things are required: the product, your description of it, your star rating, whether you were given it free or hold a referral code, and whether anyone asked you to send the report. So is your permission for us to publish. Everything else is optional, including your name, your location and your email address.
Log data. We collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit the Service. This may include your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, and similar statistics.
Cookies. Cookies are small files stored on your device. We and our partners use them to understand how the Service is used and to serve advertising. You can instruct your browser to refuse cookies or to tell you when one is being sent, though parts of the Service may then not work properly. See our Cookie Policy for more detail.
What We Publish From Reader Reports
The point of a reader report is that other people read it, so please send one only if you are happy for it to appear on the site. A person reads every report before anything is published, and we publish only a selection.
Where we publish a report, we may publish your words edited for length, your star rating, the name or nickname you gave us, your rough location, and how long you have owned the product. If you did not give us a name, your report appears as Anonymous.
If you told us you were given the product free or at a discount, or that you hold a referral code for it, we say so alongside your report. It does not stop us publishing it. Being asked to send a report is fine too, but we do not publish reports that anyone paid or rewarded you for.
We never publish your email address, and we do not add you to our newsletter because you sent us a report.
Photographs
Photographs are optional, and you should send only photographs that are your own. Image files can carry hidden information, including the location where the picture was taken, so please bear that in mind when choosing what to send us. As with everything else, a person looks at every image before it appears on the site.
How Long We Keep It
Where we publish a reader report, we keep it for as long as it stays published. We keep reports we have not published, and any email address sent with one, for as long as we need them for the purposes described above.
You can ask us to delete anything you have sent us at any time, and we will.
Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe. Contact form messages are kept for as long as we need them to deal with what you wrote to us about.
Service Providers
We employ third-party companies to provide parts of the Service on our behalf. They have access to your personal information only to perform those tasks, and are obliged not to use it for anything else. They are:
- Tally (tally.so), which runs our reader report form and holds submissions until we process them
- Google, whose services we use to analyse how the Service is used and to organise reader reports while we review them
- MailerLite, which holds our newsletter list and sends our emails
- Mediavine, which sells and serves the advertising on the Service
Each of these is bound by its own privacy policy. Some of them are based outside the United Kingdom, so your information may be transferred to and stored on computers outside your country, protected by the safeguards those transfers require.
Why We Are Allowed To Use Your Information
We rely on your consent to send you our newsletter and to publish a reader report you have sent us, and you can withdraw that consent at any time. We rely on our legitimate interest in running and improving the Service for log data, analytics and security, and on your request to us for anything you send through the contact form.
Your Rights
You can ask us to show you the personal information we hold about you, to correct it, or to delete it. You can ask us to stop using it, object to our using it, or ask for a copy of it in a portable form. Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
That includes reader reports. If you have sent us a report and want it taken down, tell us and we will remove it, whether or not it has already been published. Ask through our contact page and we will reply.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Security
The security of your personal information matters to us, but no method of transmission over the Internet or of electronic storage is completely secure. While we use commercially acceptable means to protect it, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Links To Other Sites
The Service contains links to sites we do not operate, including links to retailers from which we may earn a commission. If you follow one, you are on that site and subject to its privacy policy. We have no control over, and take no responsibility for, the content or practices of third-party sites.
Children’s Privacy
The Service does not address anyone under the age of 18 (“Children”). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 18, and that includes reader reports. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us. If we discover that a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it from our servers immediately.
Compliance With Laws
We will disclose your personal information where required to do so by law or subpoena.
Changes To This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and we will post any changes on this page with a new date at the top. You are advised to review it periodically. Changes are effective when they are posted.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or want to exercise any of the rights above, please use our contact page.