Leaving Empty Trays & Plates on Table After Eating May Lead to a Fine From 1 Jun

Hey, you. Do you have the habit of clearing your table after you dine at a coffee shop or hawker centre?

If you still have not cultivated the habit of returning your trays and cleaning up after yourself when you dine in such public spaces, now is the time to do so.

Otherwise, you may be paying for an expensive lesson to clear up your mess.

Come 1 June 2023, enforcement officers will be able to dish out written warnings or issue fines for those who do not return their used trays and crockery after their meals.

Here is what you need to know to avoid an unpleasant dining experience starting next month.

Enforcement Against Table Littering Will Be Stepped Up

From 1 June 2023, you may be approached by enforcement officers if you dine at hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts.

This is especially if you have not returned your used trays and crockery to the designated locations.

Such unbecoming behaviour, labelled as “table littering” by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA), will be clamped down starting tomorrow.

Those who are first-time offenders and are caught will receive a slap on the wrist in the form of a written warning.

The repeat offenders will be issued fines or may be charged in court. Scary business, indeed.

Do note that if the enforcement officers ask for your particulars, they will most likely require a photo ID of yourself to record your particulars. They accept various types of particulars, including a digital NRIC, which can be accessed through the Singpass app.

Those who do not cooperate in providing their details may find themselves hauled up in front of the police, who are to be roped in to assist the enforcement officers in identifying the offenders if the offender does not have their particulars on hand.

With the penalties coming in tomorrow, the respective agencies have very generously given all locals a one-day’s heads-up notice to prepare themselves.

Between now and 1 June 2023, enforcement officers who catch offenders table littering may only be advised to return their trays. If such gentle calls for obedience are not heeded, then the enforcement officers may issue a written warning.

Measures to Prevent Table Littering in Singapore

For those who are unaware, the anti-table littering scene in Singapore has been pretty vibrant since a couple of years back.

It was first enforced in hawker centres on 1 September 2021 and later extended to coffee shops and food courts a couple of months later, from 1 January 2022.

Since then, the average Tray and Crockery Return Rate at hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts have been around the 90 to 91 per cent range.

Whoever said Singaporeans are entitled and lack social graciousness?

What Constitutes Table Littering?

While this period where the enforcement action is stepping up can be a confusing period for some people, we are here for you to summarise the key points you need to know when you dine out at hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts.

The first point you should know is what you need to clear from your tables.

Basically, leave the table in the same (or better) condition than it was when you first arrived. This means returning the trays and crockery you used to enjoy your delicious meal. All litter should also be removed.

For example, used tissues, wet wipes, drink cans, shells and bones should all be discarded in the dustbin or designated receptacle so that the next person can use the table comfortably.

Litter can be returned together with the used crockery and trays at the designated tray and crockery return stations.

Do keep your eyes peeled when returning your trays, though. There are usually designated return stations for the items provided by halal stalls and non-halal stalls.

The good thing is also that you are not obliged to clear the little left behind by the previous (inconsiderate) table occupant if they did not remove litter and their used trays and crockery. In such a situation, the cleaners in the area will assist with the cleanup.

What if you decided to order hotpot, mookata or grilled fish at a zi char stall situated in a public dining space? Are these heavy (and hot) containers included in the mandatory tray return policy?

The requirements look a little grey here. NEA and SFA have indicated that they will take a “pragmatic approach” to situations where the stall has dedicated service staff to serve food to the table and clear the crockery and utensils during and after the meal.

The dedicated staff or cleaners may clear bulky crockery such as steamboat pots, mookata pots, and grilled fish metal trays.

Great news for those who don’t fancy carrying these hot and heavy crockery back to the stall.

That said, do remember to clear your litter, such as used tissues, bones and shells, after your meal, lest an enforcement officer creeps up behind you and slaps you with a written warning.

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What if I Want to Leave the Items on the Table and Clear Them Later?

For those who want to step away from the table to order a drink towards the end of their meal and are worried that enforcement officers may “book” them for not clearing their table, you don’t have to worry too much.

The enforcement officers will assess the situation on a case-by-case basis and decide if the person is an “offender” or merely just stepping away for a short while before returning to the table and doing their civic duty as a good citizen would do.

If the enforcement officer “catches you in the act” of leaving to buy your drink, they may request that you clear your table before you buy the drink. No enforcement action will be taken at that point in time.

The downside is that there is no longer a table full of crockery to help you “chope” your seat while you get a drink to quench your thirst.

Are There Sufficient Dustbins and Wash Basins to Make This Initiative Work?

The next consideration is for you clean freaks out there.

With the requirement that diners clear their own trays and used crockery being enforced more stringently, the NEA will work with stakeholders to ensure that there are adequate bins and wash basins to maintain the cleanliness of coffee shops, food courts and hawker centres.

SFA and NEA will also conduct checks at these public dining establishments to make sure that they are kept clean at all times and are compliant with local regulations.

SFA also engages coffee shop and food court operators to remind them of the requirements and ensure they provide sufficient tray return racks and maintain the facilities properly.

NEA, on the other hand, works with the Hawkers’ Association, operators and cleaning contractors to facilitate workflow and manpower deployment refinements to improve the cleanliness of these eating areas.

What Will the Cleaners Do if We Clear the Table Ourselves?

The million-dollar question that you may have if you want to siam (run away from) your table-clearing obligations is, “What will the cleaners do if I do their job for them?”.

You can rest easy knowing that the cleaners will not lose their jobs if you decide to clear your table. Instead, the cleaners will be tasked with maintaining and keeping up the general cleanliness of the dining places.

They can wipe tables, clear and sort crockery at the return stations or clear up any trays that other diners have unfortunately left behind.

Without the need to head to each table to clear the trays and litter, the cleaners can focus on wiping tables to ensure a quicker table turnover, especially during peak mealtimes.

So, you do not need to worry about any cleaners losing their jobs because you decide to be a considerate person. In fact, the NEA and SFA share that the resident cleaning workforce has not changed significantly over the past years, even through the COVID-19 pandemic, since cleaners were required to disinfect tables between groups of diners.

Of course, there may be some cleaners who go above and beyond their job scope to clear the tables for diners. In such situations, the diners are allowed to let the cleaners do the clearing on their behalf.

Are There Any Exceptions to the Requirement to Clear the Table?

In short, yes, there are some exceptions to the requirement to clear your table. But these are very narrow exceptions.

For example, older people or diners who are frail may be unable to clear their tables and are typically excused from having to return their used trays and crockery. This also applies to children who are young and may not be able to order food on their own.

Instead, the family members and dining companions of these people should take up the responsibility of ensuring that the table is clean after the meal.

The rule of thumb here is that those who are able to carry the food and trays to their table should not have an issue carrying the used trays and litter to the tray return stations.