If you’re expecting to read a post about my love of Pringles especially the sour cream and chive flavour I am sorry I am going to have to disappoint..

This one is about the serious on-going product safety issues of button cell batteries being accidentally ingested by children often with tragic consequences and the work being carried out by OPSS.

In May last year the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) conducted an investigation on the back of two fatalities and recommended that:

1.   OPSS develops a strategy to improve button/coin cell battery safety by producing a fast-track standard covering/considering battery design, product casing, packaging, and safe retailing practices.

2.   OPSS highlights to the general public the dangers of button/coin cell batteries.

Fortunately for point 1) businesses and regulators now have a fit for purpose Publicly Available Specification (PAS) standard, PAS 7055:2021, Button and coin batteries.

However, I do wonder what more could be done under point 2) in not only highlighting the dangers but providing useful tools/products to ensure the messages are being followed out/driving good behaviour.

As way of example I’ve been recycling batteries for as far back as I can remember, however if you try to buy or obtain a safe and secure box etc for your home before you take them to your local disposal site etc for recycling, I suspect you will have a long and frustrating search…

Therefore, I’ve made the best of a bad job and recycled an old Pringles tube and when it’s full I empty it!

I’ve no idea if the tube is the optimal size,
Should it be locked?
Should be transparent?
Should different battery types be separated?
Is there anything on the inner casing that might react with any of the batteries?

Leaving the average consumer to answer these questions and make a good job of it seems quite a leap of faith..

To emphasise my point to the right of my Button cell battery storage box are compostable produce bags which are dished out free by local councils up and down the land. This clearly makes the whole process easier and will have driven good behaviour thus achieving the outcome of significantly more people composting/disposing of their green waste….

This reminds me of one of my favourite quotes, “If you want a new idea, read an old book”……

If you want to ensure that your business is doing all it can in this space, contact me I can help…