ABC Brickworks Market has rolled out new automated doors as part of a trial in June, to deter birds from foraging at tray return points.

This has been installed at one of the tray return points in the hawker centre so far, Lianhe Zaobao reported.

The doors were installed at the front of the rack, while the sides and back were protected by green netting.

The doors will automatically open when diners approach the rack, and close about 15 seconds after they leave.

Here's what the doors look like in action, based on a customer's Facebook video:

Installed after diners complained about birds: Chairman

Steven Lim, Chairman of the ABC Brickworks Business Association, told Zaobao that they had received complaints from diners about pigeons and other birds scavenging for food at the premises.

Some expressed their concerns about hygiene with birds loitering at tray return points.

As such, the association worked with the tray return point contractor to install one set of automated doors, as part of a trial from Jun. 3.

Lim noted that the market does have cleaners supervising the return points, but there will be times when they need to send the dishes for washing, or to return them to the stalls.

That's the opportunity the birds would take to flock to the racks, he said.

Lim added that installation on a second set of automated doors began a few days ago, and that they will continue to monitor the situation while installing the doors one by one.

All five tray return points at the hawker centre are expected to be similarly equipped in due course.

Good anti-bird measure or inconvenience for diners?

The new measure elicited mixed reactions from the ABC Brickworks Market crowd.

Some regular diners interviewed by Zaobao shared that they had a good experience using the automated doors, and that it definitely helped to deter birds from the return points.

However, some cleaners and stall assistants pointed out that the new set-up could inconvenience diners returning their trays and crockery.

One cleaner noted that the protective net restricts diners from slotting in their trays from the other three sides of the rack, and this has led to them crowding at the automated doors.

Another cleaner said he observed that some diners would put their dishes on a nearby trolley instead of waiting for the automated doors.

Bai Wenli (transliteration), a 70-year-old stall assistant, echoed their observations.

Bai added: "There are already cleaners manning the tray return points, preventing wild birds from going there. So it seems a little unnecessary to install automated doors at all."

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Top image from Google / Lianhe Zaobao