Cookie policy
The short version
- The website saves a few small things on your device so that it works properly - for example, remembering that you have already seen the welcome message.
- We would also like to use Google Analytics to count visits. We only do that if you say yes, and you can change your mind at any time.
- There are no advertising cookies, and nothing on this website is used to show you adverts.
Who runs this website
Waste Busters is a project from the Creative Learning department at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). The website is made for children aged 8 to 11, their teachers and their families. Our privacy policy explains how we look after any information about you.
What cookies are
Cookies are small text files that a website saves in your web browser. Websites can also keep small amounts of information in other places inside the browser, called local storage, session storage and IndexedDB. The law treats all of these the same way, so on this page we call them all "cookies".
Cookies the website needs
These make the website work the way you would expect. They stay on your device, they are not used to track you, and nobody else can see them. Because the website needs them, we do not ask before using them.
| Name | Where it is kept | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
wb-welcome-seen | A cookie, with a matching copy in local storage | Remembers that you have already seen the "Let's meet the Waste Busters" welcome message, so it only appears on your first visit. It holds the number 1 and nothing else. | 12 months. The local storage copy stays until you clear it. |
wb-intro-played | Session storage | Lets the map's opening animation play once per visit, rather than every time you come back to the map. | Deleted when you close the browser tab |
wb-analytics-consent | Local storage | Remembers whether you said yes or no to Google Analytics, so we do not keep asking. | 6 months, then we ask again |
| Game storage | IndexedDB | The games and the quiz can save small amounts of information on your device, such as their settings. They do not send it anywhere. | Until you clear your browser's data for this site |
| Game files | Browser cache | The games are large, so your browser may keep a copy of them. That makes them quicker to open next time and saves downloading them again. | Until you clear your browser's data for this site |
Google Analytics - only if you say yes
Google Analytics helps us understand how many people use Waste Busters and which parts they enjoy most, so we can make it better. It is switched off until you say yes to it. If you say no, nothing about your visit is sent to Google Analytics, and the website works in exactly the same way.
| Name | Set by | What it does | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
_ga | Google Analytics | Tells one visit apart from another, so we can count how many different people use the site. | 13 months |
_ga_ followed by a code | Google Analytics | Keeps track of a single visit, so pages seen in the same visit are counted together. | 13 months |
If you say yes, Google Analytics tells us things like which pages were visited, how long people stayed, what kind of device they used and roughly which country or town they were in. It does not tell us anyone's name, it does not keep your IP address, and we have switched off Google's advertising features. Detailed information is deleted after 2 months; after that we only keep overall totals, such as the number of visits in a month. You can read more in how Google uses information from websites that use its services.
Changing your mind
You can change your answer at any time on this page, or by clearing your browser's data for this website - we will then ask you again on your next visit.
A note for parents and teachers
Google Analytics is always off unless someone says yes to it. If you would rather a child's visits were not counted - or you are setting the site up on classroom computers - choose "Essential only", and that choice will be remembered on that device for 6 months.
Services from other companies
Google Fonts
The lettering on this website comes from Google Fonts. Google does not set cookies when it provides them, but your browser does connect to Google to download the fonts, and like any website your browser connects to, Google receives your device's IP address. You can read how Google handles this in the Google Fonts privacy FAQ.
Cloudflare
The website is protected by Cloudflare, a security service that helps keep it safe and running quickly. Cloudflare may set a short-lived cookie called __cf_bm to tell real visitors apart from automated traffic. It lasts 30 minutes, is only used for security, and does not track you.
Links to other websites
The classroom page links to Eco-Schools Northern Ireland. That website is run separately and has its own cookie policy. The resource pack and the lesson plans are PDF files that download from this website and do not use cookies.
How to control cookies in your browser
You can see, delete and block cookies in your browser's settings. Your browser's help pages explain how, and the Information Commissioner's Office has a simple guide to managing cookies.
If you block or delete them, the website will still work. The welcome message will appear each time you visit, we will ask about Google Analytics again, and the games may take longer to open because they have to download again.
If anything changes
If we change the cookies this website uses, we will update this page first.
Questions
Waste Busters is run by the Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Belfast, BT9 5FB. You can get in touch through the Lyric Theatre contact page.
