Fritidsbanken functions as a library for sports-equipment and leisure items. Fritidsbanken Umeå is located at the center of the neighbourhood Ålidhem. We collect discarded items and lend them to everyone who wants for 14 days – free of charge of course! We want to give everyone a chance to try a wide range of athletic activities without buying new equipment. We require no depositions and charge no fees for delays; the system is built on mutual trust and responsibility.

By collecting and lending everything from soccer balls to ice skates we hope to increase the interest in all athletic activities, as well as improve people’s overall health and well-being. Our goal is to contribute to a more sustainable society through our reuse of unwanted equipment. We also provide opportunities for work placements and internships. In these ways we contribute to several of the global sustainability goals.

Fritidsbanken started in Värmland in 2012, today we´re spread all over Sweden, from Kiruna up North to Trelleborg in South.

Fritidsbanken Umeå cooporates with Västerbottens Parasportförbund that helps us loan adapted sports-equipment for people with physical disabilities. There are more than 80 different adapted equipments available.

In 2020 Fritidsbanken Umeå did 67 000 loans and activated 7000 children through the events we were a part in.

We also collected lots of equipment, just from the recycling centers we picked up 80 pallets of equipment that people chose to discard. We employed 45 people in 2020, as employees in language training, work trials, internships, holiday workers and through probation.

Fritidsbanken is

• available to everyone,
• everything is free of charge
• smart reuse