WE THANK Mr Ong Khoon Keat for his letter ("Redesign tray-return areas"; last Monday).
Since 2012, tray return has been implemented in more than 70 hawker centres, and will be extended to the remaining hawker centres with cooked food stalls by the end of the year.
More than 30 other food retail establishments have also joined us as Tray Return Partners. Most are major foodcourt operators and quick service restaurants or fast-food restaurants.
The new hawker centres to be built by the Government will incorporate centralised dishwashing areas and tray-return stations. The tray-return stations will include hand-washing facilities, such as wash basins and soap dispensers, for patrons to wash their hands after returning the trays.
Sinks will also be installed for cleaners to wash their cloths used for cleaning the trays and sanitising the tables.
During the design stage of the centres, factors such as the centres' layout, anticipated human traffic flow, and available space and capacity are taken into consideration to determine the locations of the tray-return stations.
For our existing centres, due to space constraints, some tray-return trolleys are situated at the side of the refreshment areas. In addition, all tray-return trolleys are bolted to the ground for safety.
The National Environment Agency will continue to look into ways to improve the existing tray-return system in our hawker centres.
We hope that patrons will continue to lend their support by returning their utensils after meals, not just at hawker centres, but also at other food establishments.
Richard Tan
Director
Hawker Centres Division
National Environment Agency
Since 2012, tray return has been implemented in more than 70 hawker centres, and will be extended to the remaining hawker centres with cooked food stalls by the end of the year.
More than 30 other food retail establishments have also joined us as Tray Return Partners. Most are major foodcourt operators and quick service restaurants or fast-food restaurants.
The new hawker centres to be built by the Government will incorporate centralised dishwashing areas and tray-return stations. The tray-return stations will include hand-washing facilities, such as wash basins and soap dispensers, for patrons to wash their hands after returning the trays.
Sinks will also be installed for cleaners to wash their cloths used for cleaning the trays and sanitising the tables.
During the design stage of the centres, factors such as the centres' layout, anticipated human traffic flow, and available space and capacity are taken into consideration to determine the locations of the tray-return stations.
For our existing centres, due to space constraints, some tray-return trolleys are situated at the side of the refreshment areas. In addition, all tray-return trolleys are bolted to the ground for safety.
The National Environment Agency will continue to look into ways to improve the existing tray-return system in our hawker centres.
We hope that patrons will continue to lend their support by returning their utensils after meals, not just at hawker centres, but also at other food establishments.
Richard Tan
Director
Hawker Centres Division
National Environment Agency
