Akron Recycling Business Saves, Repairs Thousands of Electric Scooters

An Akron-based recycling company is rescuing thousands of electric scooters and giving them a second life after the two-wheeled vehicles were abandoned.

Ben Baker, owner of Summit E-Waste Recycling Services, salvaged almost 8,000 scooters and plans to repair them and sell them to customers. Baker’s company also repairs and re-sells old computers.

“I think there were probably too many companies competing in the cities, and you’d see large piles of scooters on every corner, and it was frustrating people,” said Baker. “It would be in the way on the sidewalks and less and less people were riding them and so the companies that were competing had to pull out of the cities.”

Baker only paid $100 for the scooters and collected them from a Cleveland Warehouse. The pile was alarming to fire inspectors due to the danger created by having so many lithium-ion batteries in one space.

“I really thought it would be a great opportunity either way. If we could get them working, sell them back as working units so people could use them. If not, they have valuable components in them. The lithium can be recycled, the motors and the aluminum frames themselves can be recycled,” said Baker.

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