This is a full version of NEA-SFA’s reply issued to the media agency; published in Lianhe Zaobao, 1 Jan 2024.
Collective effort is needed to ensure our public toilets are safe and clean
The National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) thank 林潮发for his letter 《别忽视厕所文化》.
It is critical to keep public toilets clean, particularly at food and beverage establishments, as these are premises where stallholders, food handlers and cleaners work and serve food to the public.
Well-designed public toilets help make maintenance easier, and can shape user behaviour. For that reason, NEA has made efforts to support the enhancement of public toilet infrastructure. For instance, when hawker centres undergo Repairs and Redecoration (R&R), improvement work is conducted for public toilets in some hawker centres at the same time. Newton Food Centre, Dunman Food Centre and Sembawang Hills Food Centre are examples of such hawker centres which underwent R&R over the past year.
NEA also partners various stakeholders to ensure that public toilets are kept clean and sanitary. This includes working with SFA for the inspections of public toilets at food establishments to ensure that operators and cleaning contractors or in-house cleaners maximise their cleaning efforts, adhere to the regulations and implement measures to upkeep good public hygiene.
While we support infrastructural improvements and good maintenance of toilets in hawker centres and coffeeshops, co-operation is needed by owners of these premises. They must step up and co-own efforts by ensuring the provision of amenities, regular maintenance of sanitary fittings and upkeep public toilet cleanliness standards.
Since 1 April 2020, NEA and SFA have enhanced the penalties for lapses in public toilet cleanliness. A composition sum is imposed even for the first offence when a warning was given previously. Premises owners will be fined up to $500 for each of the following:
- Failure to provide public toilets with adequate toilet paper, soap or liquid detergent, litter bins, and clean towels or hand dryers
- Failure to repair sanitary convenience (e.g. faulty equipment.
- Failure to ensure flushing apparatus are supplied with water sufficient for flushing
- Unclean sanitary conveniences
The maximum fine on first conviction is between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the nature of the lapse. The penalty regime for toilets in food retail establishments also includes demerit points, where licensees who accumulated 12 demerit points or more within 12 months may be subjected to suspension or a cancellation of licence by SFA.
However, these efforts, on their own, are insufficient to raise the overall standard of public toilet cleanliness in Singapore. All users should adopt a conscientious attitude of making sure the toilet seats are clean after use, to flush fully, to keep the floor dry, and to throw litter in the bins properly.
Maintaining the cleanliness of public spaces, including public toilets, is a collective responsibility. Clean public toilets reflect who we are as a society, and help improve overall public health and hygiene.
Tony Teo
Group Director, Environmental Public Health Operations
National Environment Agency
张明顺, 司长, 环境卫生行动司, 国家环境局
Siti Suriani Abdul Majid
Senior Director, Joint Operations Division
Singapore Food Agency