Jump dump in Wellington: Uber e-scooters recycled after 6 months as they reach 'end of life'

By Charlotte Cook of RNZ

More than 300 of Uber's Jump scooters have been pulled off Wellington streets and piled up ready to be scrapped.

The scooters, some broken down and others intact, are being sent to a recycling company in Auckland.

Uber said the scooters had reached the end of their life after arriving in the capital just six months ago.

The electronic squealing from a pile of e-scooters could be heard slowly dying as the batteries ran flat.

A Wellington man who did want to be named said he had been watching in dismay as trucks pulled up to dump a load of about 300 scooters onto a freight company's concrete yard.

"Some of them have still their batteries in them because the lights are flashing and they are sort of crying away on the ground, it's quite hilarious," he said.

"There are small plastic crates filled to their top with wheels, motors, tyres, everything which has been dumped out as well."

Some looked in very good condition, he said.

Dumped e-scooters in Wellington. Photo / RNZ

"Some of the scooters are new; you can see as they are lying on the ground they have still got all the stickers that cover the certain parts like the running boards and switches," he said.

Uber New Zealand spokesperson Henry Greenacre said the scooters had come to the end of their life because of heavy use.

He said this was the first batch to be worn out and sent for recycling.

"We invest significantly in the maintenance of Jump e-scooters and they get a safety check every time they come back to the warehouse," said Greenacre.

"Given our scooters contain batteries and electrical components, it is important to us that they are properly recycled.

"Our Wellington recycling partner has taken these e-scooters to be sorted before being taken to Auckland where components will be recycled."

Uber said the scooters would be replaced in a few weeks.RNZ understands the new scooters would be an upgraded model.

About 400 Jump e-scooters arrived in Wellington in June as part of an 18-month trial, to be reviewed next month.Jump has also been named for Auckland's latest e-scooter trial, which has seen Lime booted out of the city.