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The reasons why you would not return trays at hawker centres?

If it was nurtured behavior then the chinks would have improved their social graces after moving to other countries. However nothing changes no matter where they are in the world so it has to be hardwired.

that fails to explain the high standard of social grace in Japan. unlikely ultraman gave them the gift of table manners.
 
that fails to explain the high standard of social grace in Japan. unlikely ultraman gave them the gift of table manners.

Obviously the Japs have a genetic mutation that makes them inherently different from the filthy chinks.
 
I don't returned tray because:
1) for me to returned tray doesn't mean no need to hire cleaner
2) if I returned tray or even keep the table clean, it would means those above 40 with no skill or willing to take on simple work will be out of job or one less job choice
3) I returned the tray but those foreigner don't and matar not always there to fine the foreigner I fill unbalanced, especially those foreigner here to snatch job from me and my kid.
4) I would not find a cleaner job when I retrenched or out of job.
 
Leave the tables uncleared so the next customers can seat there looking at the piles of rubbish?

Singapore is crowded,sometimes the cleaners can't keep up with the workload,I love it when I go to McDonald's and there's trays of uncleared rubbish from the previous diners and u have to clear it for them

Why can't sinkies learn more to be like Japs?put society and others before self and don't make a nuisance of
You like so much you can clear for our FT frens and make some money too. :cool:
 
Government is unable to effectively enforce the wearing of masks, how is the government able to effectively enforce the returning of trays?

Foreigners will laugh if they know there is such a penalty. Sia suay Singapore.

Forum: Time to penalise those not returning trays at food centres

I read with dismay that 36 per cent of those polled in the Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey, conducted by the Singapore Management University, were unsure whether trays should be returned in food establishments (Most want laws for stricter public hygiene, survey finds, Sept 19).

This despite public education, campaigns and the provision of tray-return stations in these establishments, including hawker centres, for years.

It is noteworthy that 93 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the cleanliness of public spaces. However, the appalling state of our hawker centres leaves much to be desired.

It is not because there are insufficient cleaners, but that many patrons are still not returning their trays after meals.

Scavengers like pigeons fly in quickly to feed on the leftovers, and flocks are often seen on the tables while other patrons are consuming their meals nearby.

The tray-return initiative, such as the one implemented at Bukit Merah Central hawker centre, has unfortunately not achieved its goals. Instead of paying a small fee for the tray upon ordering, patrons are collecting their food without the tray, with some leaving their soiled tissue paper on the table after eating. Pigeon problems continue unabated.

Singapore has strict anti-littering laws and these are regularly enforced against recalcitrant litterbugs.

As the soft approach has clearly not achieved its objective, is the time ripe for these laws to be expanded to include leaving trays and other leftovers in public places?

If it is an offence to discard used tissue paper on pathways, should there not be a penalty for leaving the same on hawker centre tables?

One suggestion is to hire tray-return ambassadors. A trial period of six months can be implemented whereby ambassadors advise patrons who do not return their trays to do so. After the trial period, fines can be imposed on those who break the rule.

The upcoming changes to the law on cleaning standards, some of which would make food establishments more liable in ensuring cleaner premises, are a positive step towards better hygiene (Changes to law on cleaning standards likely in Oct, Sept 20).

However, a two-pronged approach can be even more effective, whereby those who leave litter in food establishments can be held responsible and be penalised for it.
Ang Tun Loon
 
I normally don’t return the tray because I don’t use it at all. Why need tray to carry a plate of chicken rice or meepok dry?if 30yrs ago hawker assistant don’t need a tray, I certainly also don’t need it now.
Btw, the tray are very dirty, cleaners just use their table cloth to wipe off the rubbish and return it to the pile of trays at the stall.
 
How much money has been spent on these tray return systems: Smart Tray Return Robots, Automated Tray Return System (ATRS) etc.
What is the result? Not very good.

Mixed reactions to unconventional tray return systems in S'pore's F&B outlets
1 of 2
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A Smart Tray Return Robot at Gourmet Paradise in Toa Payoh. A tray return station at Bukit Merah Central Food Centre. The Kopitiam @ Our Tampines Hub foodcourt.

A Smart Tray Return Robot at Gourmet Paradise in Toa Payoh.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

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A tray return station at Bukit Merah Central Food Centre.ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN

Adeline Tan, Jeanne Wang and Sivakami Arunachalam

MAY 2, 2021

SINGAPORE - Several food and beverage outlets have implemented unconventional tray return systems to get people to return their trays, but the results have been mixed.
Gourmet Paradise at Toa Payoh Hub uses Smart Tray Return Robots, which have built-in racks.
When The Sunday Times was there on Wednesday from noon to 1pm, only nine diners were seen returning their trays to the robots.
Some returned their trays to the stationary tray return shelves, but most diners left their used crockery and trays behind.
The Automated Tray Return System (ATRS) at Bukit Merah Central Food Centre did not appear to yield much success either.
The ATRS, which is part of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Clean Tables Campaign, has a tray return deposit feature which requires diners to pay 50 cents or $1 a tray upon purchase of their food, which is refunded when the tray is returned to an ATRS station.

A spokesman for NEA said both the hawker centres at Block 163 Bukit Merah Central and Block 84 Marine Parade Central had tray and used crockery return rates of more than 70 per cent.
But when The Sunday Times visited Bukit Merah Central Food Centre at noon on Wednesday, only nine diners were seen returning their trays to one of the ATRS stations. There are five such stations there.
Only a handful of patrons were using trays.
Diner Phyllis Hin, 68, said many patrons do not want to go through the hassle of depositing 50 cents for the tray, which they would have to return to the ATRS to get their deposit back.
Kopitiam's Return Tray For Reward campaign seems promising.
Patrons can earn points when they return their trays by tapping their Kopitiam cards on the electronic readers at the tray return stations. These points can be exchanged for a hot drink or toast set.
When The Sunday Times visited Kopitiam @ Our Tampines Hub at noon on Thursday, over 100 patrons returned their trays to the stations in the span of an hour.

rk_kopitiam-tampineshub_020521.jpg

The Kopitiam @ Our Tampines Hub foodcourt. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Half of these patrons did not tap their cards on the readers after returning their trays.
A diner, who wanted to be known only as Ms Teo, 39, said she would sometimes forget to tap her card after returning her tray because the electronic card reader is not very prominent.
She added: "I prefer returning my tray at the conveyor belt machine here because it seems cleaner than the regular shelves."
 
Quote: Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor said: "There will still be cleaners needed to maintain and upkeep the general cleanliness and hygiene of the food centre... they will still have to wipe down and disinfect the tables."

Amy Khor, Chairman of the Public Hygiene Council Edward D'Silva, Dr. William Wan, general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, and NEA officers have not been hanging around hawker centres long enough to observe the cleaning practice of the cleaners.

Even though the diners may have cleared the tables, it is not absolutely clean. There are condensation, spills, little food crumbs left on the tables.
When the cleaners see the tables from far, they look clean, and so the cleaners do not go over to the tables to wipe down as claimed by Amy Khor.
As for disinfecting the tables, Dot has yet to see any cleaners do that.
So the tables are left uncleaned for next diners.
It is better for the diners to leave the tables uncleared. When the cleaners clear the tables, they will have to wipe the tables which will be clean for the next diners.

Why dirty habits persist at public eating places in Singapore
Out of 20 cleaners and stall operators The Sunday Times spoke to, about 60 per cent of them said the tables are just as dirty as before.

Out of 20 cleaners and stall operators The Sunday Times spoke to, about 60 per cent of them said the tables are just as dirty as before.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Adeline Tan, Jeanne Wang and Sivakami Arunachalam
MAY 2, 2021

SINGAPORE - There are several reasons for Singaporeans to not kick their dirty habits at public dining areas.
Experts said these include not being able to see how such habits directly affect them, their heavy reliance on cleaners and the lack of a proper tray return infrastructure.
Chairman of the Public Hygiene Council Edward D'Silva said: "Diners don't see that returning their trays impacts them, because they think there are cleaners to help them clean it up."
Out of 20 cleaners and stall operators The Sunday Times spoke to, about 60 per cent of them said the tables are just as dirty as before.
One of them, a stallholder who wanted to be known only as Mr Heng, said: "In addition to cleaning the tables, we also have to sanitise the area more because of Covid-19. It would be great if more people can return their dirty crockery and trays to lessen our workload."
Polls conducted by The Straits Times in mid-April showed that people still think returning their trays will cause cleaners to lose their jobs, a misconception that was debunked by Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor recently.



She said: "There will still be cleaners needed to maintain and upkeep the general cleanliness and hygiene of the food centre... they will still have to wipe down and disinfect the tables."
The common reasons cited by respondents who said they did not return their trays or only returned them sometimes were inconvenience and the lack of tray return stations.
Currently, 10 per cent of coffee shops have tray return facilities, whereas 900 tray or used crockery return racks have been installed at hawker centres.
The NEA is looking to install about 75 more tray or used crockery return racks at hawker centres.
It will also provide co-funding for coffee shop and food court operators to defray costs for the installation of tray return facilities and for the purchase of trays.
ST's polls found that most diners said they return their trays after eating. About 52 per cent of the 143 respondents in the ST online poll said they returned their trays, while 41 per cent said that they return their trays sometimes. And about 65 per cent of the 133 respondents in the ST street poll said they returned their trays, or occasionally did so.
This is much higher than the average tray return rate of 35 per cent at hawker centres that NEA found in March.

rk_tray-return_020521.jpg
ST's polls found that most diners said they return their trays after eating. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Mr D'Silva said one reason for the discrepancy could be that people tend to be less critical of themselves. He said: "If you were to approach people in a hawker centre and ask if they return their trays, most would say yes, because they don't want to be seen as a bad guy. It's just human nature. But if you were incognito and watching from afar, it is unlikely that they would return their trays."
Dr William Wan, general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, suggested stricter enforcement at public dining places to boost the tray return rate and encourage cleaner table habits.
He said: "If we can penalise people for not wearing masks or gathering in large groups, then we should also view such bad habits as a public health threat. I believe intensive enforcement is needed and people will start to abide by the guidelines."
 
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Do you clear your table in a restaurant?
In a foodcourt or food center price had been factored in for clearing & cleaning tables.
The problem is all the stalls contribute to a middleman who then manages it with maximum deficiency.
If every stall employs their own cleaner we have 20 cleaners in a 20 stalls foodcourt. Will it improve the situation?
 
Simple: we are at a commercial eatery in civilian life, not a SAF army camp cookhouse or prison.

Those PAP technocrats do not understand this. They have an agenda against 'Sinkies eating like pigs' since long ago, quite an elaborately spun narrative. :wink:

My guess is some of the jiakliaobee technocrats (NEA?) are piggybacking the pandemic to impose their 'return your tray' agenda... I'm sure that helps with stopping the coronavirus, eh? :cool:

If there are not enough cleaners, those 'ambassadors' can jolly well help with the cleaning. They're getting paid doing fuck all anyway. :rolleyes:
 
How about stopping the self service nonsense. Good old days the stalls mostly husband and wife setup. I prepare and the other one serve. Upon serving, can collect back own cutlery on the way back. So only one tray is use instead of the hundreds currently.
Nowadays hawkers too good life. Everything bian bian do for them. From processed food to central dishwashing.
 

Mandatory for diners to return trays and clear table litter from June 1​

adelinetan.png

Adeline Tan

May 14, 2021

SINGAPORE - It will be mandatory for diners to return their trays and clear their table litter from June 1, the National Environment Agency said on Friday (May 14).
Table litter include leaving litter such as used tissues and wet wipes, straws, canned drinks, plastic bottles, and food remnants left behind after dining.
To help diners adjust, there will be a three-month advisory period from June 1 to Aug 31, during which diners will be advised to follow the rules and no enforcement action will be taken.
From Sept 1, enforcement will be taken against those who do not clean up after themselves at hawker centres.
First-time offenders will be given a written warning. Subsequent offenders may face composition or court fines, which can go up to $2,000 for the first conviction.
The Singapore Food Agency will also work with NEA to roll out enforcement progressively at coffeshops and food courts in the fourth quarter of this year.

NEA said the move, which takes amid the public health crisis that Singapore is facing, comes after years of extensive educational efforts to change behaviour and mindsets of diners at public places.
NEA's deputy chief executive of public health and director-general of public health Chew Ming Fai said: "We've been talking about these clean tables since 2013, and there's been a lot of education effort that has been put out over the years."
One example is the Clean Tables Campaign launched in February this year to remind diners to step up the cleanliness of public dining places, such as not leaving food remnants behind after eating and clearing their dirty crockery.
Mr Chew said: "Following up from that exercise, we've seen a small uptick in terms of tray return rates from 33 to 35 per cent, but unfortunately I don't think that is significant enough."
To complement enforcement, NEA will also be setting up more tray return infrastructure across the hawker centres.
Currently, there are about 900 tray return racks installed across 111 hawker centres.
 
NEA's deputy chief executive of public health and director-general of public health Chew Ming Fai said: "We've been talking about these clean tables since 2013, and there's been a lot of education effort that has been put out over the years."

NEA also in charge of public health? Not MOH? :unsure:

Totalitarian regime with a bloated govt, they're inventing positions now. :cool:
 

Forum: Hygienic dining environment needed at hawker centres, coffee shops​


JUN 22, 2021


Since diners at hawker centres and coffee shops share the same tables, chairs, tableware and food trays over and over, the authorities should regulate their cleaning to curb the spread of Covid-19 and other diseases.
Tableware and food trays should be washed with automatic dishwashers after every use. Steam or hot water will effectively kill germs.
Manual dish-washing is only as good as the cleaners who do the washing. Very often, I have found food remnants and stains on manually washed tableware at coffee shops and hawker centres.
Food trays are often not thoroughly cleaned until the end of the day.
Automatic dishwashers will also reduce the manpower needed to wash the dishes and, therefore, the need for foreign labour.
Sanitising stations should be set up for diners to dip their cutlery into pots of boiling water before use.


Cleaners should wash their table cloth with clean water after each use.
Diners should also be encouraged to stop spitting or throwing used tissue paper into tableware and onto food trays and tables, and to stop placing cutlery directly onto used food trays before use. These unsavoury dining habits help germs spread via contact.
Creative mobile campaigns should be set up at hawker centres and coffee shops to engage stakeholders and persuade them to change their cleaning and dining habits.
A hygienic dining environment is critical in our fight against Covid-19 and any future epidemics, especially since Covid-19 will be endemic.

Brandon Lee
 
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