Five new hawker centres to be built; S$10 million in grants to improve coffee shop toilets

S$ 10 MILLION TO IMPROVE COFFEE SHOP TEA TABLETS

Separately, the government will grant coffee stores S$ 5 million to upgrade their bathrooms.

These offers are in line with the advice of the Public Toilets Taskforce, which was established last year as part of Singapore’s Month of Public Hygiene program. &nbsp,

Users will benefit from the Coffeeshop Toilet Renovation Grant to release and enhance the design, functions, and maintenance-free conditions of their toilets. Additionally, it encourages them to adhere to the Restroom Association ( Singapore )’s certification, which is a standard for well-designed and up to date coffee shop toilets. &nbsp,

Operators can apply for funding from the National Environment Agency ( NEA ) to cover up to 95 % of their renovation costs, which are capped at S$ 50, 000 per coffee shop.

Users will be able to use the Coffeeshop Toilet Deep Cleaning Grant to help them with regular servicing. Deep cleansing can eliminate odors and consistent stains, which the task force said are difficult to remove during regular cleaning.

In accordance with this arrangement, NEA will pay up to 95 % of a two-year, capped at S$ 25, 000 per coffee shop, deep cleaning contract. Effective applicants may also receive congratulatory in-house training in toilet cleaning.

After this year, more information about the two offers may be made available.

According to a national research conducted by the Singapore Management University, coffee shop toilets have gotten dirtier over the past year, constantly falling short of those in shopping centers, MRT stations, and hawker centers.

Older Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng stated in parliament that while coffee stores are privately run business premises, customers and non-patrons can use their restrooms. &nbsp,

This is especially crucial in an aging population because elderly may struggle with urine and bowel control more, he said.

The government was click coffee shops as “natural gathering points” for residents, he continued, rather than building public restrooms in the neighborhood. &nbsp,

Last year, NEA and the Singapore Food Agency conducted virtually 19, 000 inspections of public restrooms. As a result, about 1,300 police actions were taken against owners or managers of establishments for alleged breaches of cleaning.