Police are looking for a group of people who threw 16 rental e-scooters in the Brisbane River on a Monday night in June, amid new scrutiny on dumping in the city’s famous waterway.
The unknown group took the devices from Queens Wharf Road, near The Star casino complex in the Brisbane CBD, and hurled them into the water between 10pm and 11pm on June 29.
The investigation was revealed by Queensland Police after this masthead reported on the number of scooters ending up in the river, with experts raising fears about potential harm to wildlife and water quality.
“Investigations are ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact police,” police said in a statement on the Queens Wharf Road incident.
“All scooters have since been recovered from the river.”
Police added two boys aged 12 and 13 were dealt with by officers under the Youth Justice Act a day prior for the offence of wilful damage after two scooters were thrown into the water.
Unusually low tides in August revealed dozens of submerged e-scooters on the banks of the Brisbane River, some showing extensive decay.
Providers Lime and Neuron have long downplayed the scale of dumping in Brisbane, and clean-up has largely been left to a private organisation funded through grants.
“Every time we go through on a low tide, we’re picking up … the things,” Ian Thomson, founder of organisation Ocean Crusaders, told this masthead.
“They’re a pest, and obviously the lithium-ion batteries are no good for the environment.”
Ocean Crusaders said it had collected about 150 scooters from the river just around the CBD over the past 12 months.
Water scientists said the lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese in modern batteries presented potential risks to the river’s complex ecosystem of aquatic life and plants.
Thomson said the strip under the Riverside Expressway was a dumping hotspot.
He called for a fence along the water’s edge, saying it would be the easiest and cheapest way to reduce the number of scooters ending up in the river.
Brisbane City Council said it was not responsible as the state government owned the land. Premier David Crisafulli said on Monday morning the issue had never been raised with him by the council.
The council’s Labor opposition called on the lord mayor’s administration to formulate a plan to reduce dumping, arguing that the council allows scooters to operate and profits from their use.
“Why does Adrian Schrinner always want to take credit for things, but run from responsibility when something goes wrong?” leader Jared Cassidy said in a statement.
“The only reason these e-scooters are operating in Brisbane is because his council allows them.”
Brisbane City Council would not reveal the value of its scooter contracts with Neuron and Lime, but confirmed there was a cap of 7100 devices operating at any time in the city.
Those with knowledge of the agreement said the council made just over $5 million from e-mobility companies last financial year.
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