A local environmental nonprofit found more than 20 e-bikes and scooters in the Potomac River near the Trump-Kennedy Center this month.
The Potomac Riverkeeper Network said on social media that it found the vehicles in the D.C. waterway on Jan. 8 after a tip from its pollution hotline.
Dean Naujoks, head of the network, said the exact number was 22 dumped in the river.
Mr. Naujoks told Washington’s WRC-TV on Friday that his organization retrieved eight of the e-bikes and scooters. He’s concerned that, if left in the Potomac, the batteries will corrode and their contents will leach into the river.
The group contacted D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment and is trying to find which company the e-bikes and scooters belong to.
The city’s Department of Transportation and two bike and scooter-sharing companies, Lime and Bird, all told WRC that they’re working with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network to help haul the rest of the e-bikes and scooters out of the water.
Transportation officials added that the company or companies that own the dumped e-bikes and scooters would be fined once they’re retrieved.
