SINGAPORE: The cleanliness of coffee shop toilets ultimately depends on the will of their owners, said William Wan, former general secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, in an interview with CNA.
“Government grants can only clean up the coffee shop toilets. It is the will of the owners that will keep them clean,” he emphasised.
Wan noted that coffee shop toilets have consistently been found to be dirtier than those in shopping malls, MRT stations, and hawker centres for many years.
While he welcomed the government’s decision to allocate $10 million to improve the hygiene of coffee shop toilets, he stressed that money alone would not solve the issue.
“For one thing, it’s a matter of will. Shopping malls, MRT stations and even hawker centres are able to keep toilets cleaner now than before. I don’t see why coffee shop toilets cannot be made cleaner,” he said.
Wan questioned who should ultimately take responsibility for maintaining toilet cleanliness, stressing that a lack of ownership leads to neglect.
“There must be a sense of ownership. If there is no ownership, nobody cares,” he said.
He also warned of a “broken windows syndrome”, where dirty toilets discourage patrons from making any effort to keep them clean, creating a cycle of poor hygiene.
“So they will consistently not be clean,” he added.
The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) announced the introduction of the grant on 4 March, stating that these additions are part of a broader initiative to enhance Singapore’s hawker centre infrastructure, supported by up to S$1 billion (US$740 million) in funding over the next 20 to 30 years.
Grants Must Be Paired with Penalties
While Wan supported the idea of government grants as a short-term reset, he argued that these should be paired with enforcement measures.
“The owners can do whatever they want with the money, and if there is no follow-up—no maintenance, no training of staff—within a short time we’ll be back to square one,” he cautioned.
“On the other hand, the toilets are so dirty now. If we don’t have any funding to get them reset, the owners may claim it’s very difficult for them to do.”
He proposed harsher penalties for repeat offenders, such as shutting down coffee shops for a week.
“Until they begin to feel the pinch, they will not want to do anything different.”
Wan also called for more public education to shift expectations and norms.
“We need more public consciousness. If we penalise coffee shop owners who are recalcitrant, we should splash it across the papers and in the media,” he said.
Finally, he urged clarity on who is accountable, pointing out that in some cases, the owner is also the landlord and operator, making it easier to assign responsibility.
But when the landlord rents the coffee shop to an operator, he argued that both parties should be “jointly and severally liable.”
Netizens: Cleanliness of Coffee Shop Toilets Is Owners’ Responsibility
Under CNA’s Facebook post on the issue, many questioned why taxpayer money should be used for what they felt was clearly the responsibility of coffee shop owners.
Several users expressed frustration over subsidising basic maintenance duties.
One user commented that coffee shop owners are responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of their toilets.
The user added, “No point to grant S$10 million to coffee shop owners to make and upgrade toilets and not clean and maintain them.”
They suggested that upgrades and renovations should be made compulsory, emphasising that maintaining clean toilets is a shared responsibility.
Another user asked pointedly, “Why waste these state resources to correct an illegal act of negligence by the rich coffee shop owners?”
The commenter argued that laws already require owners to provide clean, decent toilets and claimed enforcement had long been lacking.
“This law has been there for donkey years but was not enforced.”
Scepticism about the long-term effectiveness of the grants was also apparent.
“They will be clean for a few months after getting the money. After that, back to the same again,” one commenter said.
“Total waste of taxpayers’ money to fill the pocket of their own friends.”
One user commented that it was definitely a total waste of taxpayers’ money, arguing that coffee shop owners were already making significant profits from their businesses.
The user questioned, “why should we be giving them any sort of grant at all?”
Some proposed alternative models instead of government grants.
One user suggested, “A practical alternative could be requiring owners to hire a cleaner and implement a small usage fee, such as 10 cents per user, to ensure regular maintenance.”
“Wouldn’t a self-sustaining model be a more effective and responsible solution?” the user asked.
Public Behaviour Also to Blame, Say Netizens
Others turned the spotlight on toilet users themselves, arguing that cleanliness problems also stem from public behaviour and attitudes.
“No offence, but if you see the behaviour of those people visiting coffee shops—especially in mature estates—you will understand why the toilets cannot stay clean,” one user wrote.
“I seriously doubt they behave the same way at home. No point wasting taxpayers’ money to clean the toilet.”
Another echoed the same view, attributing the problem to cultural norms.
“It’s not clean because of a culture issue. Japanese toilets are clean even when not cleaned so often.”
Another user shared their personal approach to poor hygiene standards.
“The users need to be educated too. I usually spend the first five minutes wiping down the toilet seat. I don’t usually have to do this when I’m travelling.”
A more hardline stance came from a user who called for punitive measures against inconsiderate patrons: “The bloody toilet’s user also has to be disciplined—with fines.”
Calls for Firm Enforcement
One user argued that the issue had been neglected for too long and urged the authorities to adopt a stricter regulatory framework.
“The authorities should make the operators of food outlets responsible,” the user wrote.
They suggested that food outlet operators be held accountable through a system of fines, demerit points, and public toilet grading.
Recalcitrant operators, they argued, should face temporary business closures.
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