Cookie Policy

1. Introduction to Cookies

When you visit Local Broom to learn about menu planning, reducing food waste, or optimizing your kitchen inventory, we use "cookies" to enhance your experience. A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. It enables the website to remember your actions and preferences (such as login, language, font size, and other display preferences) over a period of time, so you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you come back to the site or browse from one page to another.

In the context of our mission—minimizing waste—we aim to keep our digital footprint as lean as possible, only using the data necessary to provide you with high-quality resource guides and technical sheets.

2. Legal Framework (Canada/Ontario)

Under Canadian law, specifically PIPEDA, cookies that track personal information require informed consent. By continuing to use Local Broom, you acknowledge that we may store certain cookies on your device. However, for cookies that are not "strictly necessary" for the operation of the site (such as marketing or detailed analytics), we seek to provide you with clear choices regarding their use.

We also monitor developments in the Digital Charter Implementation Act (Bill C-27) to ensure our practices remain at the forefront of Canadian privacy protection.

3. Categories of Cookies We Use

3.1. Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for you to browse the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site or managing your shopping list templates. Without these cookies, services like the waste tracking metrics or meal planning tools cannot be provided.

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration
PHPSESSID	Maintains user session state across page requests.	Session
__cfduid	Used by Cloudflare to identify trusted web traffic.	30 Days

3.2. Analytical/Performance Cookies

These allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding the organic waste diversion guides they are looking for easily.

Cookie Name	Purpose	Duration
_ga	Google Analytics: Used to distinguish users.	2 Years
_gid	Google Analytics: Used to distinguish users.	24 Hours

3.3. Functional Cookies

These are used to recognize you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalize our content for you and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of measurement units for food storage engineering).

3.4. Marketing & Targeting Cookies

These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We may use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests in sustainable living and cost-effective procurement.

4. Third-Party Cookies

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies. For instance, if you share a guide on "Zero-Waste Cooking Protocols" via a social media button, that social network may set a cookie on your browser.

5. Managing Your Preferences

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences by clicking on the settings button below:

Alternatively, you can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our website, though your access to some functionality and areas of our website may be restricted. Most browsers allow you to:

• See what cookies you've got and delete them on an individual basis.
• Block third-party cookies.
• Block cookies from particular sites.
• Block all cookies from being set.
• Delete all cookies when you close your browser.

6. Data Retention

The period for which we store a cookie depends on its type. Session cookies expire when you close your browser. Persistent cookies, which are used to remember your preferences for your next visit to the Ottawa Food Waste Reduction Guide, remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them.

7. Contact Information

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at

Local Broom Privacy Office

45 O'Connor St, Ottawa, ON K1P 1A4

+1 (774) 953-6748