Three top tips for safe storage

Store button batteries in a safe place, up high and out of reach of children. Avoid leaving them loose in drawers or on surfaces.

Watch out for loose spare button batteries in new products. Remove them and put them with your other button batteries out of reach.

Even used batteries need to be kept securely out of reach of children until you are ready to recycle them.

Why?

Button batteries can badly hurt or kill a small child if they swallow one and it gets stuck in their food pipe.

Small children often find spare button batteries in a drawer or used batteries that haven’t been disposed of yet.

By storing spare and used button batteries in a safe place, up high and out of children’s reach we can significantly reduce the risk.

Remember, children can often reach much further than we think and once they’re on the move there’s no limit to what they can find.

Are flat batteries still dangerous?

“The worst case we had was a 3-year-old boy who swallowed a button battery from some weighing scales. He swallowed the ‘flat’ battery when it was being replaced with a new one. We removed it within 3-4 hours but he had a nasty burn of his oesophagus.” – Consultant gastroenterologist

We often think that when a product stops working, the battery must have no power left.

But even when a ‘flat’ battery can no longer power a product, it can still hold enough charge to cause serious harm to a child’s food pipe.

That’s why we need to treat used button batteries with the same care as new ones.

• Keep used batteries in a safe place, up high and out of reach of children
• Recycle them as soon as you can. Find out where to take yours here.

Learn more about the dangers of used batteries