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‘Dunk Drive’ coming to town for Earth Day, free collection of electronics

April 20, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

It is almost long enough to be a tradition that the Dunkerley brothers, Cameron and Devon, with their crew, drive around the region twice a year to pick up named items and take them to recycling centres – for free. 

Once in the spring, has seen them picking up tires for recycling and the following year picking up bicycles to repair as either giveaways or sold for charities.

Both efforts have been met with an enthusiastic response.

Monday, Apr. 24, the Dunk Drive takes place, and the targets are electronics, similar to scrap metal, as they are reusable. Recycling centres for electronics use the valuable metals and minerals in the items they collect, break them down and use the materials for new products. Yet, the process is much more complicated than that sounds.

It is important not to throw out your electronics, as they go to landfills, where they can leach their fluids and metals into the ground, harming the local environment. There are efficient and safe processes, and it matters how disused electronics are handled. Cameron Dunkerley has done his homework on the matter. He told us that when giving away electronics for the upcoming collection, ensure you have all your private data erased beforehand.

The place to which Dunk is delivering the items is “a drop-off, sorting and transfer facility. So, they separate the items into appropriate sections based on what it is, and then it is sent to different facilities that recycle those specific items and materials.” 

He did warn us, saying, “We are not picking up hazardous waste, so no car batteries. So, hazardous waste materials are not on our list for this pick-up.”

What led them to do this particular pick-up was the fact that they have done community clean-ups in the past, and Cameron reckons they’ve had a great response.

“I guess the community has really responded well and shown a lot of interest. To do this on Earth Day, people have these things and don’t know how to dispose of them,” he explained.

As spring is here and “everybody’s coming out, these are something a lot of people throw because they don’t know what else to do with them.”

While there are community drop-off centres and transfer stations in Caledon and further afield, people do not necessarily have the time or inclination to seek them out. This time around, Dunk Disposal can do this for them. 

“Usually, towns do have a place, but we want to take away the burden from people so that these items are correctly disposed [of] without winding up in a landfill,” said Cameron.

He went to elaborate. “There are lots of reasons to do this. Whenever we get laptops. TVs or other electronics during our professional clean-ups, we take them directly to a recycling centre. Even outside this event, we’re always trying to sort out the items to the recycling centre, and they break it down and send it on.”

For the event on Monday, Apr. 24, whoever has something to recycle can contact Dunk Disposal by telephone, email or social media, and they will “come by and remove the items.”

They have three trucks for the collection. Last year’s bike pick-up yielded two full truckloads, but the tires almost filled three trucks. As Cameron observed, homeowners are sometimes stuck with keeping tall stacks of tires.

His wisdom: “The easiest way is not necessarily the best way.”

Business is good now that it is springtime. This is a time of decluttering and general clearing out. As winter is over, people want to get rid of their old sheds and hot tubs. The three trucks are in full swing, “getting right into things.” 

Recently, they did a warehouse clear-out and look to do much more with businesses. There are a lot of companies in town now, and the Dunk Disposal team is trying to offer more help to them and “grow a little bit.”

“It is a tough business if you’re not pricing properly,” Cameron cautioned, adding that referrals, word of mouth, and five-star ratings online “has helped us along.”

Withal, Cameron Dunkerley is really passionate about these free pick-up events.

“It has always been a goal to grow,” he admitted clearly, “but in addition to the sales, these events are really a passion for me. Communicating with the community.”

In the meantime, they have a couple more people to work for them, and students are coming from university to work for the summer. Through the winter, they work with businesses.

Cameron said, “When you trust that someone will come and do this for free, you can rely on them coming to do a professional job.”

Here is the extensive list of items for pick-up this year: TVs (flat screen), computers, stereo equipment, laptops, phones/cellphones, cameras, DVD players, video game consoles, monitors, tablets, printers, power tools,

cameras, sound and video equipment and GPS systems.

To participate in Dunk Disposal’s spring pick-up, reach out to them and express interest by Sunday, Apr. 23 at the latest. The business can be reached by email at dunkdisposal@gmail.com or by phone at 905-766-9008.

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