More fines, warnings issued to owners of public toilets in 2024

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.”

 

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. 

 

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. 

 

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.