SINGAPORE – Since March 30, diners in local coffee shops have been seeing more decals and posters urging them to return their trays and keep their surroundings clean, as part of a new initiative to improve the cleanliness at these eating spots.
The initiative will be rolled out across more than 400 coffee shops under the Singapore Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association (Foochow), in a partnership between the association and the Public Hygiene Council (PHC).
The decals are currently displayed at some coffee shop storefronts, but PHC plans to expand their coverage in April, including introducing stickers in different languages and positioning them in other spots, such as on tables.
Decals were chosen and pasted in prominent locations so that coffee shop customers can see them while patronising the stalls and take heed of the messages, said Dr Christina Liew, PHC’s executive director.
As the decals feature mascots from PHC’s Keep Singapore Clean campaign, they will also be familiar to schoolchildren, thanks to the council’s outreach efforts in schools, she added.
“We hope to see people take responsibility for their actions by not littering and keeping the tables clean,” said Dr Liew. “It’s behaviour that we all know we should follow, but now the steps are spelt out clearly and we encourage everyone to do more and help keep coffee shops clean.”
“Cleanliness is a shared responsibility,” said Foochow’s chairman, Mr Hong Poh Hin, at the partnership announcement on March 31 held at the association’s Singapore Coffee Shop Heritage Gallery.
“It requires the the collective effort of operators, cleaners and patrons to keep our shared spaces pleasant for everyone.”
Four FoodHub-operated coffee shops will also participate in PHC’s Neighbourhood Toilets Community Group programme, where community volunteers will help monitor the cleanliness of coffee shop toilets and notify operators when amenities are not in good working condition.
As part of a three-month trial starting in April, motion-activated jingles will play when customers use the toilet at the four outlets. The lyrics remind users to practise good toilet etiquette such as flushing and keeping the floor dry.
These measures come after a series of efforts to improve the cleanliness of coffee shops, including the provision of grants by the National Environment Agency (NEA) for coffee shops to improve their toilet facilities, and the enforcement of fines on diners who are caught failing to return their used trays and crockery repeatedly.
The Coffeeshop Toilet Renovation Grant and the Coffeeshop Toilet Deep-Cleaning Grant were introduced by NEA in March 2025 to help improve toilet cleanliness, with applications opening on Nov 3 that year.
The Coffeeshop Toilet Renovation Grant supports operators in upgrading their toilets for ease of cleaning and maintenance, while the Coffeeshop Toilet Deep-Cleaning Grant supports regular deep cleaning to remove persistent stains and odour.
As at March 22, 2026, NEA has received 192 applications for both grants, said its spokeswoman in response to queries by The Straits Times on March 30.
“NEA will continue to reach out to coffee shop operators to encourage applications,” said the spokeswoman.
FoodHub general manager Tan Boon Chwee said that the operator has already applied for the toilet grants for some of its coffee shops.
He expressed hope that the introduction of the decals would motivate more people to return their trays. “The decals have a simple design and cute pictures, so people can read them easily,” he said.
Coffee shop customers whom ST spoke to said that while they have observed cleaner eating spaces since the implementation of initiatives such as tray returns, there are still areas for improvement.
Hospice nurse Goh Sock Cheng, 64, said that people usually automatically return their trays, but she occasionally has to clean the table before using it.
Sound engineer Mohamad Harizan Sidik, 52, said coffee shops in mature estates may also require more upkeep than newer outlets.
He added that reminding everyone in the community to do their part can not only alleviate the burden on cleaners, but also help keep coffee shops cleaner throughout the day.
“This is a way that we can give back to the community and keep the place clean for the next customer,” he said. “It helps everyone.”