Fun and environmentally friendly! Swings used for charging mobile phones at a station.

Have you ever needed to charge your smartphone when you are out and about? If so, how about charging it while playing on swings?

Utrecht Central is the largest railway station in the Netherlands. It has 16 platforms with over 900 trains departing and is used by more than 170,000 passengers every day. At this central hub of the Dutch railway network, giant swings that can be used to charge mobile phones for free and in a fun way have been installed. To experience these three swings, lines were formed and some people even waited for another train to get an opportunity to play on the swings.

Charge your phone at Utrecht Central station before meeting your friends

Needless to say, the feature of these swings is that both, adults and kids can generate power while having fun. Connect your phone to a cable that extends from a box next to the swing. A green light means it is ready. All you have to do is swing, and the phone will be charged with the power generated by the swing. It is a unique idea to charge a device in an eco-friendly way while having fun and playing, and it meets modern-day needs.

The swings are called Play for Power and were manufactured by ID310, a company based in the province of Utrecht.

Established in 2006, ID310 has many creative directors and graphic designers who plan and develop experience-based products and events with a unique perspective. The swings were installed at the station as a part of the Sustainability Week, an event focusing on sustainability.

Sustainability Week to explore sustainability

The Sustainability Week is the largest sustainability event in the Netherlands. In 2019, it was held for a week, from June 15 to 22, in and around Neude square in Utrecht. Since its launch in 2016, the event has grown gradually to see the participation of 50 organizations and 150 events in 2019. The number of visitors was more than 10,000 this year.

Supporting the aim of the event, the Dutch national railway, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, that operates Utrecht Central station, also installed a pop-up store that uses products made from recycled train materials and a collection point for recycling PET bottles. They are considering implementing similar initiatives at other stations that they operate.

Permanently installed to raise awareness of sustainability

Play for Power was originally planned to be removed after the Sustainability Week. As it attracted media attention and went viral on social media, many people have requested for it to be installed longer. It has been decided that the swings will remain installed at the station permanently. Soon you may see such swings in places other than the Netherlands.

Instead of giving up something to help the environment, you can protect the environment while having fun. It will be good if this initiative increases the interest of people in sustainability.

Source: Play for Power