SINGAPORE: A new fundraising initiative was launched by the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) on Thursday (Nov 17), to recognise the work of toilet cleaners.
Under the initiative called SaniGives, RAS said it will partner sanitary-product companies which can donate a certain amount of money to the restroom association for every purchase made by consumers. Companies also have the option of offering discounts to people who donate.
The donations will then be used to purchase grocery vouchers for the cleaners or to organise activities such as appreciation lunches. “Without their hard work, it would be very challenging to keep the toilets clean,” said Ms Tan Puay Hoon, president of RAS.
According to the latest online survey of 230 respondents conducted by the association, eight in 10 (80.6%) said toilet cleanliness was most important, compared to factors like having facilities for the aged, children and the handicapped (9.1%), ease of locating the restroom (6.1%), smell (2.1%), strong phone signal (2.1%) and nice design (0%).
Nearly nine in 10 respondents rated Singapore as having the cleanest public toilets in Southeast Asia.
The survey also found that the top three bad habits observed by the respondents were not flushing after use (72.7%), not washing hands (48.9%) and littering (42%).
Jurong Point Shopping Centre was one of the recipients of this year’s LOO Awards under the RAS’ Happy Toilet Programme. (Photo: RAS)
RAS said the SaniGives initiative was introduced after studying results of its survey. Almost eight in 10 respondents (79.5%) said they would support fundraising campaigns for cleaning attendants, while six in 10 (59.2%) said they would buy toiletries from companies raising funds of the cleaners.
However, the job of a cleaner is regarded poorly. According to the survey, most respondents (34.7%) expressed disappointment if their child were to work as a cleaning attendant compared to the other three options given – production worker (10.2%), delivery driver (9.2%) and security officer (6.1%). RAS said this indicates the “need to better recognise the cleaning attendants”.
At its eighth LOO (Let’s Observe Ourselves) Awards ceremony on Thursday, 47 individuals, schools, organisations and toilets were awarded.
Among them were Alexandra Hospital, Jurong Point Shopping Centre and Newton Food Centre, which were recognised under the Happy Toilet Programme. They achieved the highest scores in areas such as cleanliness, design and user satisfaction.
