The toilet of Holland Village Market and Food Centre has received the award for the "Best Happy Toilet" in the market and food centre category, along with a rating of five stars from the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS).

According to Shin Min Daily News, the accolades were handed out on Nov. 16 to commemorate the upcoming World Toilet Day on Nov. 19, 2023.

According to the RAS, more than 50 award recipients were at its 15th LOO (Let's Observe Ourselves) Awards ceremony, including 30 "outstanding" restroom attendants.

The awards included S$150 worth of grocery vouchers which were donated by the public and presented by the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, Baey Yam Keng.

Toilet was in a much worse state one year ago

The cleaning company responsible for Holland Village Market and Food Centre's toilet, Primech A&P, was quoted as saying that the place was in disrepair when it first took over management in December 2022.

At that time, the toilet was leaky, and users often slipped and fell due to the damp floor.

Primech A&P added that once it had identified the issues in the toilet, it proposed to the National Environment Agency to introduce "smart" cleaning equipment and to train cleaners in the proper cleaning procedures.

These efforts ultimately resulted in the toilet improving from its three-star rating to five stars.

How does the star-grading system work?

According to RAS, the star-grading system is based on five areas: design, cleanliness, effectiveness, maintenance and user satisfaction.

The rating starts at three stars and goes up to a maximum of six stars.

For a toilet to attain three stars and the label "Clean Restroom", it must attain a minimum of 60 points, while a rating of five stars and the label "Premium Restroom" requires at least 96 points.

Other food centres which have also attained a rating of five stars include Amoy Street Food Centre, Kallang Estate Market and Food Centre, Market Street Hawker Centre and Zion Riverside Food Centre.

A toilet with at least 104 points receives six stars and is called a "Magnificent Restroom".

Toilets with this rating include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore toilets and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

RAS looking at improving the sanitary conditions of coffeeshop toilets

The award ceremony also saw the RAS announce the launch of the LOO Campaign @Coffeeshops.

According to Shin Min, the campaign will reach out to operators of 1,000 coffeeshops and aims for at least half of them to participate in its plan to improve the sanitary conditions of coffeeshop toilets.

Top photo via Shin Min Daily News