Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information from Lime and a reaction from Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

As 28-year-old Joey Sandoval rode his bike past a downtown Reno scrapyard on Sunday, he and his friends discovered a proverbial "gold mine" of bright-green Lime Bikes heaped on the other side of the scrap yard gates.

Sandoval, who was visiting Reno from Salt Lake City for the weekend, couldn't get very close to the heap of Limes but estimated how many there could have been.

"It was definitely more than a hundred," he said. "But I'm not sure how much more was under the stack."

He snapped a photo of the pile of Limes, which he gave to the Reno Gazette Journal.

PHOTO TAKEN ON MARCH 31

What Sandoval and his friends found on Sunday was the result of an end to Lime Bike's agreement with the city of Reno, which the city council decided to not renew earlier in March.

The end of that deal sealed the fate for Reno's fleet of bright-green rental bikes.

"We had to recycle all of the bikes that were in the city because the city council did not renew our agreement," said Lime spokesperson Brooke Brumfield.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said on Twitter Tuesday that she was disappointed with Lime Bike's decision to scrap the bikes, saying they should have found a way to put them to good use in the community.

Brumfield clarified that while many of Lime's Reno fleet ended up in the scrapyard, some ended up being transferred to other markets or were taken back by the company.

Lime explored the option of donating the bikes to a local organizations, but the bikes are not designed to be used without certain safety protocols in place, according to a follow-up email from Brumfield.

The bikes Sandoval found in the Reno scrapyard are likely "problematic" for some reason or another and can't be sent to another city, Brumfield said.

LIME BIKE COVERAGE

She could not say how many bikes were transferred and how many were sent to the scrapyard.

Following the March decision to not renew the agreement, Lime worked with Reno to devise an exit strategy for its Reno fleet that would remove its bikes by the end of March.

On Sunday, March 31, the remaining Lime Bikes were collected and deposited in the downtown Reno scrapyard for recycling.

Much of Lime's fleet in Reno had already been mothballed or removed from the city for the winter months. About 700 bikes were taken off the street in early December, leaving about 150.

RGJ PHOTO TAKEN ON APRIL 2

Could Lime return?

Lime may still return to Reno, but lawmakers in Carson City this year must first clarify state law on whether stand-up scooters are mopeds or electric bicycles before moving forward on working with Lime or other vendors.

Mopeds currently require DMV registration, per Nevada law, but electric bicycles do not require registration and must follow all bicycle and pedestrian laws.

Lime Bike launched its rental program in Northern Nevada last May as part of a year-long pilot program, but quickly ran into issues with the cities of Sparks and Reno by September when it debuted a fleet of electric scooters in the area without first giving warning.

The unexpected scooter deployment prompted a cease and desist letter from Reno and caused Sparks to cancel its agreement with the company. Reno continued its agreement with Lime at the time, but insisted the scooters still be removed from the city until their legality gets sorted out.

According to Brumfield, Lime is beginning to entirely phase out its rental bikes across the country as they have not proven profitable — meaning the fate of Reno's bright-green rental bikes may have been sealed despite the punting of the agreement.

If Lime does come back to Reno — and it does want to, according to Brumfield — it will more than likely be in electric scooter form.

"We're focusing on a prosperous future with the city of Reno and we are really grateful for the city of Reno's continued vision of micromobility and progress ... we hope to come back," she said.

After the publication of this story, Lime forwarded an official statement to the Reno Gazette Journal.

Lime’s mission is to provide communities with safe, sustainable, convenient transportation options and we are constantly looking to improve the way our riders move throughout their cities. When we announced the launch of our bike sharing partnership/pilot with Reno and the partners in Washoe County in May 2018, we were eager to partner on an innovative approach to mobility for Reno area residents. During this time, we’ve learned a great deal about this community’s desire for more convenient, green transportation options. Every Lime community is unique to the riders who live and work there – vehicle selection and availability varies across each and is determined through several factors including weather, regulations, usage, infrastructure availability and other analyses. In short, every city and district is different – there is no one-size-fits-all transportation solution. We are proud of the City of Reno for being forward thinking about micromobility and remain hopeful about partnering on solutions tailor-made for the Reno region in the future.

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Sam Gross is a breaking news reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal who covers wildfires, emergencies and more. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.