Cookie Policy
Cookie Policy
This policy explains what cookies are, which ones this site uses, and how you can control them. It applies to Rethink & Reuse and the pages served from this domain, and it covers the whole resource — the low waste home guide, the sustainable shopping tips, and every plain kitchen and upcycling page you open here.
Six short sections, written in plain English:
- What cookies are
- Cookies we use
- Analytics
- Managing cookies
- Third-party cookies
- Changes to this policy
Last reviewed 21 September 2026
Why the split matters
Two kinds of cookie on this site
Everything this site sets falls into one of two groups. The first group is not optional; the second group is entirely your call, and the guides work either way.
Essential cookies
These keep the site working: remembering your cookie choices so the message does not reappear on every page, holding a page state while you read a long guide, and keeping basic security working in the background. They do not follow you to other websites, and they store no information about the zero waste projects you looked at.
Analytics cookies
These tell us which pages get read and which get skipped. If a beginner struggles with the simple upcycling projects page, the page views show it. We read the figures in aggregate, so we can see where a guide needs rewriting.
Blocking analytics cookies costs you nothing: no page on this site, from the zero waste starter kit list to the composting food scraps at home guide, is locked behind consent.
Section one
Plain definition
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website. They allow the site to remember information between pages or visits, such as your preferences or previously viewed content.
A cookie is not a program and it cannot run on your device. It holds a short string of characters — usually a random identifier and a small amount of setting data — which the site reads back the next time you load a page. Nothing about your kitchen, your shopping list, or the items you have chosen to reuse is written into it.
This site also uses your browser's own local storage for the cookie choice you make. It behaves much like a cookie and is covered by the same choices described below.
Section two
What is set
Cookies we use
We use essential cookies that keep the site functioning, such as remembering your cookie choices. We also use analytics cookies that record which pages are visited and how often, so we can improve the guides. Any additional categories are listed here when they are in use.
Category
What it does
Set by
Your choice
Essential
Keeps the site running and remembers the cookie choice you make here.
This site
Always on
Analytics
Counts page views and records how readers move between the guides.
This site
Opt in or out
Embedded media
Set only where a third-party player or widget appears on a page.
Third party
Opt in or out
There is no advertising or remarketing cookie set by this site, and it does not sell data on to brokers.
Section three
Analytics
Analytics cookies collect information about how visitors reach and use the site. The data is used in aggregate and is not intended to identify individual visitors. You can block these cookies without losing access to the site content.
In practice that means we see which topics people read first and where they stop — whether a reader lands on the zero waste tips for beginners overview and then moves on to the kitchen swaps, or leaves before the first paragraph. It tells us which headings are working and which pages need a clearer start.
Some analytics data sets a first-party identifier so that repeated visits from one browser are counted once. It is not linked to your name, your email address, or any details you send us through the contact page.
How long the data stays: analytics records are kept in aggregate form and reviewed periodically, not held indefinitely at visitor level. If you change your mind, you can withdraw consent at any time through the cookie controls on the site.
Section four
Managing cookies
Most browsers allow you to view, delete, and block cookies through their settings. You can also use the cookie banner on this site to change your choices. Blocking essential cookies may affect how the site works.
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Open the cookie controls and set analytics on or off. The change takes effect from your next page load.
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In your browser settings, look for the privacy or site data section. Deletion there clears cookies for every site, not just this one.
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Blocking everything may stop the choice you made here from being remembered, so the consent message can reappear. That is expected behaviour, not an error.
Browser help pages are the fastest route to the exact wording for your version; the steps vary slightly between them.
Our own pages set cookie choices; embedded third-party content is governed by the provider's own policy.
Section five
Third-party cookies
If the site embeds content or uses services from third parties, those providers may set their own cookies. These are governed by the third party's own policy, which you should check separately.
On this site that applies mainly to embedded video or a shared widget on a guide page. When a page loads that kind of content, the provider can read and write its own cookies in the same way as if you had opened that provider's site directly.
We choose embeds that allow playback without unnecessary tracking, but the final setting belongs to the provider, not to us. Where an embedded page is used, the relevant policy is linked from that page.
If a page looks different
Blocked scripts can leave a gap where a player or interactive element should be. That is your browser and our scripts disagreeing, not a fault in the page. The surrounding text, the zero waste tips, and the sustainable shopping guidance all remain readable.
Section six
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site or the rules change. The version published on this page is the current one.
When a change affects what cookies do, we reword the relevant section rather than add a note at the bottom of the page. The review date at the top of this page moves with it.
Common questions about cookies on this site
Do I have to accept cookies to read the guides?
No. Every guide — the zero waste living overview, the low waste home guide, the upcycling projects and the sustainable shopping tips — stays open whether you accept analytics or not. Consent only changes whether we count the visit.
Does this site track what I buy or browse elsewhere?
No. There is no advertising or cross-site tracking cookie here, so opening the plastic free food storage page or the reusable produce bags guide has no effect on ads you see on other websites.
How do I change my choice later?
Reopen the cookie controls on any page and switch analytics off or on again. If that message is not reappearing and you want to change your choice, clear the site data in your browser and reload the page.
Where do I ask about a specific cookie?
Write to [email protected] or call +44 20 7946 0731 between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. We can tell you what a named cookie is doing on the page where you saw it.
Cookie questions and privacy questions share a mailbox; if your question is about the Privacy Policy rather than cookies, say so and it will be routed accordingly.
Questions about how this site handles your data
Rethink & Reuse is an editorial zero waste and upcycling resource for UK households. If the cookie policy leaves something unclear, or you want to know which choice was recorded for your browser, get in touch and we will walk you through it.
- [email protected]
- Telephone
- +44 20 7946 0731
- Post
- 42 Bramley Road, London, N14 4HR
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM