Opinion | The fix for Hong Kong’s dirty public toilets starts and ends with how they are managed

The HK$600 million set aside to spruce up toilets under the government’s care will go to waste if the crux of the problem – the outsourcing of the work through a tender exercise that stresses cost over quality – isn’t addressed

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All public toilets should have a plaque at the entrance naming the contractor responsible, the name and photograph of the attendant, the name and contact number of his or her supervisor, and the name and contact number of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department official responsible for that district. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 3:00pm, 10 Mar 2019Updated: 6:31pm, 10 Mar 2019

I wonder what people in other major cities like New York and London made of the announcement in the budget speech that Hong Kong would spend HK$600 million (US$76.4 million) to improve conditions in 240 public toilets. Did they secretly hope their own governments would find the funds to undertake similar programmes? Or did they ask themselves what people here were doing in our facilities that required spending so much public money to put right?

It is hard to imagine senior officials of those other comparable business centres including in a major policy speech a reference to improving ventilation, and enhancing cleanliness and hygiene in toilets. But we should give credit to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po for facing up to an important issue, despite the risk of negative publicity.

According to the Hong Kong Toilet Association (yes, there is one), we have a serious problem. Too many public toilets under the government’s care – about 800 in all – are dirty, smelly and poorly maintained. People use them only when they are desperate, and for the minimum necessary time.

Contrast this with the spacious and luxurious facilities in some of our shopping malls and top hotels.

Part of the problem stems from poor design. We need to build toilets that are easier to clean, for example. The cubicles need floor-to-ceiling separation and individual extractor fans, not half screens and reliance on a single large fan to ventilate the whole facility. Taps and soap dispensers should be automatic, paper towels are better for drying hands than powered warm-air devices.

Public toilets in Hong Kong are less spacious and luxurious than facilities in shopping malls like Pacific Place. Photo: Handout

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