• Hawker centre diners must clear their own tables from Sept 1 or face a warning or fine
• There will be an advisory period from June 1 to Aug 31, during which NEA will not take enforcement action
• This move will be extended to coffee shops and food courts in the fourth quarter of 2021

SINGAPORE — From Sept 1, diners at hawker centres must return their dirty trays, crockery and litter on tables after a meal, and repeat offenders who do not comply may face fines of S$300 or more, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday (May 14).

This practice will eventually be enforced at all public dining places, including coffee shops and food courts.

Hawker centres, set in an open environment, have been prioritised because of the high footfall and exposure to birds, NEA said in a statement.

NEA said it will work with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to “progressively” roll out enforcement at coffee shops and food courts in the fourth quarter of this year.

“NEA is not enacting a new law, as leaving litter on dining tables is enforceable as a littering offence under Section 17(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act,” the agency stressed.

To help diners familiarise and adjust, there will be a three-month advisory period from June 1 to Aug 31, during which NEA will not take enforcement action.

The move comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic and after years of extensive educational efforts to get diners to clear their tables and urging by members of the public and institutions to enact legislation to raise cleanliness standards, NEA said.

First-time offenders will have their particulars taken down and be issued a written warning, the agency said. Second-time offenders will be fined S$300 and subsequent offenders may face court fines.

In its statement, NEA added that cleaners will not lose their jobs just because diners will now be clearing their trays.

Cleaners will still be required to maintain and upkeep the general cleanliness of dining places, including wiping and sanitising tables, and clearing and sorting dirty crockery at designated tray return points.

“Returning one’s tray and dirty crockery will reduce cleaners’ workload and their having to make frequent rounds to clean tables,” NEA said.

It added that this will help redesign the role of cleaners in Singapore, whose average age is 60.

Mr Tony Chooi, president of the Environmental Management Association of Singapore that was consulted by NEA on the change, added: “The cleaning industry is facing manpower challenges and the pool of cleaning staff is limited… There is no worry that the cleaning staff might lose their jobs.”

CAMPAIGNS NOT ENOUGH

In February, NEA launched a “Clean Tables Campaign” to urge diners to clear their tables after their meals.

But the effort barely moved the needle when it came to diners’ habits, and the average rate of people returning their trays only edged up from 33 to 35 per cent, NEA said.

“While NEA has seen good results at some places, it is not as satisfactory as we would like,” the agency said, describing the improvements as “nominal”.

A survey it conducted in March, however, showed 76 per cent of respondents indicating that they returned their trays most of the time.

This, NEA said, represented an incongruity between what people said they did and what they actually practised.

The agency added that the disappointing result, despite its efforts on education and outreach, had prompted it to change its enforcement stance.

“NEA seeks the cooperation of all diners to share the responsibility of maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of public dining places in Singapore,” it said.

“This helps us to transition to a more socially conscious, self-service concept where diners clear their dirty trays, crockery and litter, and leave behind a clean table for the next patron.”