Problems that the million-dollar ministers are not solving

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More fines and warnings issued to owners of public toilets in 2024, the Year of Public Hygiene​

The new campaign tag line, “Everyone wins when our toilets are clean”, focuses on a call for collective action from both users and operators.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Tang Yi Qing
Nov 22, 2024

SINGAPORE – There has been a spike in enforcement actions taken against owners of public toilets in 2024, the Year of Public Hygiene, as designated by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.

Figures from the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) showed that 1,253 enforcement actions – comprising fines and warnings – related to public toilet cleanliness were taken against premises owners from Jan 1 to Nov 15.

This is more than triple the 367 enforcement actions taken over the same period in 2023.

In addition, 10 coffee shops have been suspended by SFA for toilet-related and food safety offences under the Points Demerit System in 2024, compared with just one suspension each in 2022 and 2023.

Owners or operators of public toilets can be fined up to $500 for not providing basic amenities, such as soap or toilet paper, or not keeping toilets clean. Coffee shops are suspended for one day if they accumulate 12 points within 12 months, according to the SFA website.

The clean-up is far from over.

A new campaign, the Cleaner Public Toilets Campaign 2024, was launched by Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, on Nov 21 at Senja Hawker Centre.

The campaign tag line, “Everyone wins when our toilets are clean”, focuses on a call for collective action from both users and operators.

This campaign is co-organised by NEA and the Public Hygiene Council (PHC). It is backed by the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS), SFA and Singapore Kindness Movement.

“It is everybody’s responsibility, and it is to everybody’s benefit if our public toilets are clean,” Mr Baey said. “Users also have to play a part in keeping the toilets clean.”

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng giving out campaign leaflets at Senja Hawker Centre on Nov 21. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The Public Toilet Task Force that Mr Baey co-chairs is looking into providing more resources to help operators build and better maintain their toilets.

The task force is also looking at how to nudge operators into considering upgrading their toilets more frequently, Mr Baey said.

Dr Abdul Jalil, SFA’s assistant chief executive of operations, said: “While regulatory measures are important, the sustained upkeep of these facilities is a joint responsibility between stakeholders, including the Government, the industry and members of the public.

“By making a conscious effort to keep our public toilets clean, we create a more pleasant and hygienic experience for all.”

Senja Hawker Centre in Bukit Panjang is one of the hawker centres that received a five-star rating under RAS’ Happy Toilet Programme.

A cubicle in the female toilet at Senja Hawker Centre. The hawker centre has received a five-star rating for the hygiene level of its toilets.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Design measures such as antibacterial floor tiles, scupper drains and rimless, anti-stain vortex flushing systems were used in its toilets to aid cleaning and maintenance.

Ms Sharifah Radiah, 37, a cleaner at Senja Hawker Centre, said patrons have higher expectations of the toilets at the hawker centre because of its high rating certificate displayed outside the toilets.

Asked for her thoughts on the new campaign, she said: “This campaign will benefit not only Senja Hawker Centre but also the rest of the hawker centres in Singapore.”

Bukit Panjang resident Steffenie Liu, 41, visits Senja Hawker Centre around two to three times a month. She uses the toilet every time she dines there and finds it “quite pleasant”.

“The toilets here are newer and cleaner,” she said, comparing them with those at other hawker centres.

Meanwhile, PHC, the new campaign’s co-organiser, successfully piloted a toilet cleanliness module in its Buddy Clean Workshop – part of the Keep Singapore Clean Movement in schools – to primary school pupils.

This initiative started with selected groups of pupils from Clementi Primary School and Kong Hwa School, with plans to introduce it to 15 primary schools by the end of 2025.

Students from Clementi Primary School playing games at Senja Hawker Centre on Nov 21.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Other than educating pupils on the importance of toilet hygiene, the module also teaches them to handle cleaning equipment like brooms and mops, which some of them use to clean the toilets at their school.

Clementi Primary School teacher Christina Chang, 37, said that the pupils who took part in cleaning their school’s toilets had a change in mindset after the session.

“It really opened their eyes to see how difficult it (cleaning the toilet) is,” she said.

Janice Teo, 10, one of the volunteers who cleaned the school’s toilets, said she enjoyed learning a new skill.

“I learnt that it’s not always the cleaner’s job to clean,” she said.

 

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S’pore coffee shops can tap $10m in grants to boost toilet cleanliness​

Coffee shop operators can apply for up to 95 per cent funding for toilet renovation costs, capped at $50,000 per coffee shop.PHOTO: ST FILE
Zhaki Abdullah
Mar 05, 2025

SINGAPORE – Coffee shop owners can soon tap $10 million from two grants to improve the cleanliness of the toilets at their premises.

Under a new $5 million Coffee Shop Toilet Renovation Grant, operators can apply to the National Environment Agency (NEA) for up to 95 per cent funding for costs, capped at $50,000 per coffee shop.

The grant aims to encourage operators to undertake renovations and achieve certification under an upcoming Happy Toilet Programme standard for coffee shops.

The standard will be developed by the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS) – a non-profit organisation which aims to build an “excellent restroom culture”.

Operators will also be able to tap NEA’s $5 million Coffee Shop Toilet Deep Cleaning Grant, for funding of up to 95 per cent of the cost of a two-year deep cleaning contract, capped at $25,000 per coffee shop.

“Successful grant applicants will also receive complimentary on-site toilet cleaning training at their coffee shops for in-house cleaners,” said the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) on March 4.

NEA will provide more details of the two grants later in 2025, the ministry added.

The two grants were among 10 recommendations by the Public Toilets Task Force in a recent report.

Responding to questions by various MPs – including Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang GRC) and Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) – about whether these recommendations would be implemented, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said her ministry had studied the task force’s recommendations and decided to endorse them.

Co-chaired by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng and Public Hygiene Council (PHC) chairman Andrew Khng, the task force was convened in 2024 to study and recommend solutions to improve the cleanliness of public toilets.

These included a list of recommended design features, such as placing toilet entrances and common hand wash basins at least 5m away from the nearest food stall where possible.

The task force focused primarily on restrooms that consistently fared poorly in cleanliness surveys, such as those at coffee shops and hawker centres.

A study by Singapore Management University of 2,602 public toilets islandwide in 2024 found coffee shop toilets to be among the dirtiest.

Speaking in Parliament on March 4 during the debate on his ministry’s budget, Mr Baey acknowledged that coffee shops are privately operated commercial premises.

But as “natural gathering points” for residents, they provide a public service to the community by keeping their toilets accessible both to patrons and other members of the public, reducing the need for the Government to build public toilets in the community.

“This is particularly important in an ageing population, as seniors may have more difficulties in managing bladder and bowel control,” he noted.

In a statement, MSE noted that coffee shops had high footfall but often faced “limited manpower in cleaning and maintaining the toilets”.


Responding to a question from Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) on whether similar grants would be extended to other public restrooms – such as those at community clubs or neighbourhood centres – Mr Baey said the focus is on coffee shop toilets due to how poorly they fared in cleanliness surveys.

Diverting resources to other premises would not address the issue at hand, he added.

The year-long Toilet Improvement Programme for coffee shops, which ended in October 2021, co-funded operators up to 90 per cent of the cost of improving the design of toilets or adopting technology to facilitate their cleaning and maintenance, capped at $45,000.

Only 44 coffee shops out of more than 1,000 islandwide completed improvement works under the programme.

Relying on grants alone is not enough, Mr Baey said, adding that users and community volunteers can also contribute to cleaner toilets.

In line with this, MSE endorses the task force’s recommendation to refresh RAS’ existing Happy Toilet Programme – a grading initiative for public toilets focused on areas such as cleanliness and user satisfaction – as well as the expansion of PHC’s Neighbourhood Toilets Community Group programme. The PHC initiative aims to educate operators and users about the shared responsibility of keeping public toilets clean.

Mr Baey added that the authorities will continue to take action against errant operators, including suspensions where necessary.

He noted that the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and NEA in 2024 intensified inspections on public toilet cleanliness, with almost 19,000 such inspections carried out. These resulted in about 1,300 enforcement actions taken against premises’ owners and managers.

“I am heartened that premises have taken action to rectify lapses,” said Mr Baey. “Over time, we hope that these measures can break the cycle of dirty coffee shop toilets, so that we all can enjoy better and cleaner toilets.”

In February, it was reported that six coffee shops were fined and suspended for a day for toilet-related lapses. Five were repeat offenders which had racked up two or more strikes in a year for dirty or poorly maintained toilets, according to the SFA.

 

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Forum: Grants to keep coffee shop toilets clean must be well-managed​

Mar 07, 2025

I refer to the article “S’pore coffee shops can tap $10m in grants to boost toilet cleanliness” (March 4).

It’s great that the spotlight is on public toilets, usually unseen but essential to the proper functioning of a public space and a critical baseline of good maintenance, and cleanliness of the overall facility. For me, they are linchpins of our public spaces.

The grants, while well-meaning, must be well-managed. In that respect, the ecosystem of the toilet renovation and worker training providers should be well-regulated. We do not want an instance where higher cost for service providers is seen after credit is disbursed.

In addition, how will we know if a grant has been put to good use and the revamp of a toilet is successful? Perhaps a checkpoint is required and a rolling “assessment sheet” of the providers is needed.

At the same time, how do we reward coffee shops that have already been spending effort and money to keep their places well-maintained? How do we reward outstanding cleaning staff who do their work fastidiously? And how do we incentivise citizens’ long-term good behaviour in keeping public toilets clean? The last question is harder to answer.

The structure of the toilets is one thing – and good design does go a long way to help the people who maintain them – such as providing paper towels so water is not flung on the floor, having proper ventilation, and having fewer doors to minimise high-touch surfaces.

I’m always slightly puzzled by the touch screens at some toilet exits that ask people to rate the toilets – these seem to be surfaces that should be avoided.

Good plumbing for the flushing and draining system is also critical. But equally essential in the long term are the efforts and mindsets of the people who maintain and use the toilets.

Samantha Wong

 

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Forum: Make it easier to get a ride at taxi stands​

Mar 17, 2025

I refer to the article “New measures may help taxi firms grow fleets but don’t tackle problem of street-hail availability” (March 13), and want to relate my recent experience.

I am 80. After my day surgery at the National University Hospital last week ended at around 8pm, I joined the queue at the taxi stand in front of the main block to go home. There were fewer than 10 people, mostly elderly, in the queue.

Not many taxis stopped at the taxi stand, and when they did, they were always on call.

I queued in the evening wind for about half an hour, and realised as it grew later that I had little chance of getting a taxi ride.

Even though I was feeling weak, I dragged myself to the nearby MRT station to go home, despite dreading the idea of the 15-minute walk home after the train ride.

I have some suggestions to make.

Have a call button or some device at popular taxi stands for passengers to alert taxis in the area that there are people waiting at the stands.


Make it mandatory for taxis to pick up fares at hospital taxi stands first before they take on any bookings from there.

Raise the taxi fares at high-traffic areas to be on a par with on-call rides. If there are two people who need a taxi, you cannot blame the taxi driver for picking the one willing to pay more.

Chan Siu Yung