Efforts to get diners to return trays and crockery paying off

Return rate is up; 2024 Go Green campaign launched with focus on public cleanliness

- Elise Wong

Efforts to make sure diners return their used trays and crockery at hawker centres, coffee shops and foodcourts are paying off, with more than nine in 10 observed to clean up after themselves in April 2024.

This is up from the 65 per cent tray and crockery return rate noted in August 2021, before warnings and fines were issued from the following month.

The update came from the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on June 12, alongside the launch of the annual Go Green SG campaign, a nationwide movement led by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE).

In its second edition, the campaign aims to rally citizens, organisations and the community to take action for more sustainable living. This year’s focus is on public cleanliness, in alignment with the 2024 Year of Public Hygiene as designated by MSE.

In May 2021, NEA and SFA jointly announced that they would take stricter measures to promote cleanliness at hawker centres, foodcourts and coffee shops.

Those who did not return their used trays and crockery, as well as clear their tables, could face fines of up to $2,000 for repeat offences.