Sustainability of Tray and Crockery Return Movements at Hawker Centres, Coffee Shops and Food Courts

9 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Tray and Crockery Return Rate under the mandatory tray return policy has been maintained at 90% and above since the last update in September 2022; and (b) whether there continues to be regular checks being conducted so as to ensure overall cleanliness is maintained in hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts.

The Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): To date, the average Tray and Crockery Return Rate, or TCRR, at hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts is around 90%. To ensure the cleanliness of our public dining spaces, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) have been conducting checks, with focus on premises with a lower TCRR. The average TCRR of around 90% largely shows that many diners have been doing their part. We hope that more diners will return their trays and used crockery after their meals, to entrench this as a social norm in Singapore.

Mr Speaker: Ms Joan Pereira.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Thank you, Speaker. I have one supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. In general, I have received feedback that some patrons, although they are able to, do not return their trays after eating. May I know how successful the mandatory tray return policy has been since the initial set of good results, and whether there has been any deterioration in the compliance rate? And if so, would the Ministry be able to impose more effective measures, like more frequent patrolling by NEA officers and enforcement, only if necessary?

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: As I have mentioned in my reply earlier, the average TCRR for our hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts have remained at around 90%. Indeed, we are heartened by the support given by Singaporeans to clear and clean up after themselves.

But, nonetheless, this also means that there is a minority, a small proportion who still do not return their used crockery and tray after their meals. And some might not do it unless the enforcement officer advises them to do so, because if they heed the advice of the enforcement officers, no action will be taken. A written warning will only be issued if they do not heed the advice and, subsequently, if they offend again, it will be a composition fine.

We do want to encourage more Singaporeans to clean up after themselves at our public dining places.

What we have done is, NEA and SFA have continued to conduct checks and enforcements, particularly in premises with a lower TCRR. We do that and work closely with the Town Councils, as well as with the hawker associations and stallholders to get them, for instance, to remind these diners to return their used crockery and tray, as well as to ensure that there is sufficient tray return infrastructure and signages to remind and raise awareness about the requirement.

In addition to that, we will continue to monitor the situation and we will, as the Member has pointed out, look at a review of the deployment of our enforcement officers if need be, as well as consider the option of firmer actions should the situation warrant it.