Cookies
This page lists every cookie BinMinder itself sets, plus the other companies whose code runs on the site and what they store. It is written from the code, so if a cookie is named here it is one you can actually look for in your browser.
Choosing what you allow
We tell Google's tags to store nothing until consent is given. That is set before any Google script loads, and it is released only when Google's own consent dialog reports an answer — so if that dialog never loads, the answer stays "no" rather than defaulting to "yes". The dialog itself is Google's, appearing where their rules require it, and what it looks like and how many clicks it takes are theirs to decide, not ours.
The site works the same either way. You can look up your bin day, sign up for reminders and read everything here without allowing any advertising or analytics storage.
We deliberately do not show a second cookie banner of our own. Two dialogs asking the same question is worse for you than one, and Google's is the one that actually controls the ads.
Changed your mind? This reopens the same dialog:
Cookies BinMinder sets
These are first-party cookies — set by binminder.co.uk, readable only by binminder.co.uk, never shared. None of them holds your name, address, email or phone number.
| Cookie | What it holds | Lasts |
|---|---|---|
| bm_uid | A random string with no meaning outside this site. It lets us count you once as a returning visitor rather than as a new one every day. | 1 year |
| bm_d | Today's date. It stops one person reading ten pages from being counted as ten visitors. | 2 days |
| bm_hero | A single letter recording which version of the homepage headline you were shown, so you keep seeing the same one. | 30 days |
| bm_signup | Which wording of the signup form you were shown. | 30 days |
| bm_checkcta | Which wording of the reminder prompt you were shown on the bin-day checker. | 30 days |
| bm_mot | Which wording of the MOT reminder page you were shown. | 30 days |
| bm_intl_signup | The same thing as bm_signup, on our non-UK country pages. | 30 days |
bm_uid and bm_d are marked HttpOnly, which means no JavaScript on the page — ours or anyone else's — can read them. The four wording cookies exist so that a page doesn't change its headline under you between visits while we work out which version people find clearer.
Cookies other companies set
These are the third parties whose code runs on BinMinder pages. Each link goes to that company's own description of what it stores, which is the only account of it we can honestly vouch for.
- Google AdSense — the ads. Ads are how the free reminders get paid for. Google's cookies here do frequency capping, click-fraud prevention and, only if you agree to it, personalisation. How Google uses cookies.
- Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_…) — how many people reach which page. Until you consent it runs without storing anything on your device, so these cookies only appear if you said yes. Google Analytics cookie usage.
- Meta pixel (_fbp) — measures whether our Facebook and Instagram posts bring anyone here. This one is loaded only after you consent; decline and its code is never fetched at all. Meta's cookie policy.
Not cookies, but still on your device
- Your last lookup (bm_last_check, in local storage). When you check a bin day, the postcode and address you chose stay in your own browser so the page can offer them again next time. They are never sent anywhere by this feature. "Not your address?" on that page deletes it.
- A service worker, but only if you turn on browser reminders. It is what lets a notification reach you when the tab is closed, and it is registered at the moment you allow notifications — not before.
-
binminder_token— the key to your own reminder settings, kept so the dashboard link works next time. It is not a cookie, it is localStorage, and it stays until you clear your browser data. Anyone with it can change or stop your reminders, which is why it is worth knowing it is there.
Blocking them
Every browser can block or delete cookies for a single site, and BinMinder is built to survive it: the bin-day lookup, the guides and the signup form all work with cookies off. What you lose is small and mostly ours — the headline may change between visits, and you will be counted as a new visitor each time.
Questions
The wider explanation of what we collect and why is in the privacy policy. Anything this page doesn't answer: privacy@binminder.co.uk.