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 As the Restroom
Association (Singapore) or RAS marked its 15th year, a series of
activities and projects were initiated such as the inaugural Singapore
WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Conference. We wish to extend our heartiest appreciation
to government, private and
non-government organisations for your support. The
conference was held not only to commemorate World Toilet Day but also as a platform
for committed stakeholders to congregate and identify key WASH challenges
and available solutions.
We
published and launched the 3rd edition of A Guide to Better Public Toilet
Design and Maintenance at the Singapore WASH Conference. This
revised guide would not have been published successfully without the
expertise, time and effort contributed by professionals from Association
of Consulting Engineers Singapore (ACES), Building and Construction
Authority (BCA), National Environment Agency (NEA), PUB, Public Hygiene
Council (PHC), Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), Singapore
Institute of Architects (SIA) and World Toilet Organization (WTO). With
the publication of this guide, we hope owners, cleaning service
providers, cleaning attendants and public users will soon stand to
benefit from better toilet standards.
At
the WASH Conference, the annual LOO (Let’s Observe Ourselves)
Awards ceremony was also held for the 5th year. We continued to garner
more support, receiving a total of 65 nominations. We wish to extend our
heartiest congratulations to the 20 award recipients including a record
of 10 restroom cleaning attendants who were presented with grocery
vouchers to help them cope with rising living costs. After the awards
ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony was held with
partners offering effective products and solutions on toilet design,
operations or maintenance. This is our strategic move of evolving into a
one-stop solution provider by linking owners, operators and cleaning
service providers to credible partners.
As
a one-stop solution provider, we have been actively engaging owners,
cleaning service providers and public users on our holistic approach to
achieve clean toilets for everyone. An exemplary example is the South
West Mosque Cluster that recently worked with us on a holistic approach. Apart
from sending its cleaning attendants and supervisors for training
sessions on restroom
cleaning and inspection respectively, its toilets will soon be certified
under the Happy Toilet Programme (HTP).
This will be followed by the adoption of our partners’ effective
products and solutions. Finally, an educational campaign will kick in to
close the loop on our holistic approach. It is indeed encouraging that
this strategy has been well received with more HTP participation and we
are pleased that the HTP has achieved another milestone with MRT stations
coming onboard for the first time.
The
first organisation to work with us on the above holistic approach is the
Housing & Development Board (HDB). From October to November, the LOO
(Let’s Observe Ourselves) Carnival was organised at five of its
shopping malls to educate its shoppers to keep its toilets clean and show
kindness to cleaning attendants and fellow users. This is also in line
with our key World Toilet Day message this year that is, “Ignite a
SPARK - Share, Promote & Adopt Restroom Kindness”. This message
was also publicised to visitors at the Clean and Green Singapore (CGS)
events. With the coming of a new year, we hope to achieve more milestones
but this can only be actualised with continued support from the three key
stakeholders namely the owners, cleaning service providers and users.
Ms Tan Puay Hoon
President
Restroom Association (Singapore)
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