JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA AND PHC

Singapore, 21 November 2024 – Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, Mr Baey Yam Keng, launched the Cleaner Public Toilets Campaign 2024 today at Senja Hawker Centre [1]. This year’s campaign tagline, “Everyone wins when our toilets are clean” [2], marks a progression from last year’s focus on individual awareness towards a call for collective action. This aligns with the focus of the Year of Public Hygiene, so designated by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, which places a strong emphasis on shared responsibility to uphold high standards of public hygiene and cleanliness in Singapore.

2          Co-organised by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Public Hygiene Council (PHC), the campaign continues to see strong support from partners, including the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS), Singapore Food Agency (SFA), and Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), to promote the responsible use of public toilets. [3] The campaign will also reach out to various segments of the community through partnerships with local stakeholders, such as Grassroots Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, Social Service Agencies, and schools, to publicise campaign messages and educate them about conscientious public toilet use.

Stepped up enforcement on public toilet cleanliness by NEA and SFA

3          Since the beginning of 2024, NEA and SFA have stepped up enforcement on public toilet cleanliness and ensured that operators take responsibility and properly maintain their toilets. From 1 January to 15 November 2024, 1,253 enforcement actions were taken against premises owners, across all premises types including transport nodes and retail food establishments. This is three times more than the 367 enforcement actions taken in the same period last year. SFA also suspended 10 coffeeshops for toilet-related (and other food safety) offences under the Points Demerit System, compared to suspension of 1 coffeeshop each in 2022 and 2023.

4          For failure to provide basic amenities (such as soap or toilet paper) or to keep toilets clean, owners or operators of public toilets can be given a fine with composition sum of up to $500. Under the Environmental Public Health Act 1987, for lapses such as insufficient basic amenities and unclean toilets, the maximum fine on first conviction is between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the nature of the lapse.

Ground up initiatives by PHC

5          PHC, a supporter of the campaign since 2021, joins NEA as co-organiser of the campaign this year, enabling PHC’s extensive on-ground engagement initiatives and network of partners/stakeholders to be leveraged for collective efforts to raise awareness, drive action and behavioural change, and promote advocacy for cleaner public toilets. This year, PHC expanded to transport nodes its Neighbourhood Toilets Community Group (NTCG) programme [4] – a collaboration between operators, community volunteers and users, to reinforce the message of collective responsibility in keeping public toilets clean. PHC also successfully piloted a toilet cleanliness module in its Buddy Clean Workshop [5], to help primary school students understand the importance of keeping toilets clean.

6          “The Public Hygiene Council has played a key role in co-organising the Cleaner Public Toilets campaign with the National Environment Agency this year. All of us – including operators, cleaners and users – have an important role to play in improving public toilet cleanliness. To drive our collective efforts, PHC has this year introduced a toilet cleanliness module into our Buddy Clean Workshop initiative, to share knowledge with primary school students and teach them practical skills on how to keep toilets clean. PHC has also expanded to transport nodes our Neighbourhood Toilets Community Group programme, which constitutes a critical partnership between premises operators and community volunteers, to reinforce the importance of collective responsibility in keeping our public toilets clean,” said Mr Andrew Khng, Chairman of PHC.

Keeping public toilets clean calls for social responsibility

7          Maintaining the cleanliness of our public spaces, including public toilets, is a collective responsibility that benefits everyone. All users should adopt a conscientious attitude by practising the four key actions: keep toilet seats clean, flush toilets fully, keep the floor dry, and bin litter properly. These simple steps create a positive cycle where each person's efforts contribute to a cleaner toilet for the next user. While the campaign primarily addresses user behaviour, it complements ongoing efforts relating to toilet design, enforcement, and cleaning practices. When we all play our part, we elevate the standards of our public spaces, ensuring that everyone enjoys the comfort of clean toilets. Remember, everyone wins when our toilets are clean.

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