AKRON — In January, we first show you stacks of discarded e-scooters that were once sitting in a warehouse in Cleveland and headed for the landfill.
The thousands of defunct Spin scooters were purchased for $100 by Ben Baker, the owner of Summit e-Waste, an electronic recycling company in Akron.
After our first report, the story went viral on social media, and the phone was ringing off the hook.
"Everybody is a little overwhelmed, but the spirits are high," said Ben Baker.
A few months later, in March, we returned as the scooters started going out to customers.
"I had no idea that it would turn into something like this," said Baker.
This summer, that pile of scooters is much smaller.
"When you guys were here the last time, the basement was full, so that's cleared out. This pile right behind me is about halfway gone," said Drew Furman, managing scooter sales at Summit e-Waste.
Furman has recruited a team to help him get the scooters to the people. There are new employees and summer interns from Akron Firestone Community Learning Center.
"This is an internship. It teaches me about computer science and gets me into the front door into the computer science field," said Wilton Smothers.
Smothers learned how to prep circuit boards that would eventually control the machine. While the painting and rehab work happens downstairs, Furman handles an influx of people in the door every day picking up orders.
One Northeast Ohio buyer, Lowell Roosa, took a ride on his new scooter before taking it home.
"If you have a problem, just give me a call. No big deal, I'll walk you through it," said Furman.
Furman told Roosa there would be a warranty if the scooter stopped functioning without an accident or other damage.
"We sold probably about 1,200 of them so far. We're still working our way through the local list," said Furman. He continued, "somewhere close to 2,000 people on the out-of-state list."
Employees and interns can't work fast enough, "we're peddling as hard as we can. I'm thinking probably by the end of the summer we'll probably be through it. Sometimes, maybe September beginning of October. That's the dream anyways."
Baker's original ingenuity to buy the scooters and refurbish them inspired another Northeast Ohio entrepreneur.
"Well, we actually saw the story on Channel 5 and we were in the process of starting the scooter business," said Carolyn Camargo. Camargo continued, "we paused the TV took a picture so we had the phone number, everything so we didn't lose it you know."
Camargo and her husband's new small business "Rentals on the Lake" is just getting started. Situated on the strip, you can stop by and rent one of these refurbished scooters to zip around.
"You pay there, you rent them from there, and you return them there. It's not like the other ones where you can just leave them wherever you're at," said Camargo.
From boosting business at Summit e-Waste to starting another, the scooters seem to have transformed from trash to treasure.
