📋 Tender Overview
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chokwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology Mr Tse Chinwan in the Legislative Council today October 7
Question
It has been reported that the facilities in a number of public toilets located at tourist hotspots and in city centres are dilapidated and their hygiene condition is poor There are views that modern public toilet planning should emphasise hygiene epidemic prevention and privacy protection and that the design of traditional public toilets fails to meet the publics requirements for hygiene and barrierfree facilities In this connection will the Government inform this Council
1 of the specific monitoring mechanism currently put in place by the Government for the daily cleaning and maintenance of public toilets in various districts as it has been reported that urine residue on rubber floor mats and damaged facilities are still currently found in some public toilets whether the authorities will consider raising the performance indicators for contractors and increasing the frequency of inspections so as to improve the hygiene condition of public toilets if so of the details if not the reasons for that
2 as a study has pointed out that installing wash basins inside individual toilet compartments can effectively enhance users privacy and enable them to clean their hands before touching the door handles of the toilet compartments thereby reducing the risk of crossinfection whether the authorities will consider incorporating this design into the recommended specifications for newly completed and refurbished toilets so as to shorten the distance between toilet and handwashing facilities inside the toilets and enhance the overall hygiene standard of public toilets and
3 whether the Government will revise the existing design guidelines for public toilets to stipulate that all refurbished public toilets must be equipped with the following facilities wallhung toilet bowls with touchless flushing systems touchless wash basins liquid soap and handdrying equipment installed inside toilet compartments airconditioning or dehumidifying systems and a comprehensive range of wallmounted sanitising and sanitary product amenities if so of the details if not the reasons for that
Reply
President
The Government is committed to enhancing the facilities management and hygiene standards of public conveniences under its purview Public toilets in Hong Kong are mainly managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department FEHD the Leisure and Cultural Services Department LCSD and the Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department AFCD
In response to the Hon Chan Chokwongs question in consultation with the LCSD and the AFCD the consolidated reply is as follows
1 The Government has put in place a stringent monitoring mechanism for the cleansing and maintenance of public conveniences under its purview Public toilets managed by the FEHD are thoroughly cleansed at least twice a day Toilet attendants are deployed in public toilets with higher utilisation rates or those near tourist attractions Public toilet facilities in country parks are cleansed by AFCDs frontline staff or cleansing service contractors generally one to four times a day with some toilets at popular recreation venues also having cleansing staff stationed during the day The LCSD also stipulates the daily cleansing frequency in the service contract provisions Cleansing service contractors are required to arrange for cleaning workers to clean toilets at regular intervals throughout the day and to increase the frequency in response to actual operational needs or as instructed by venue supervisors
On facility maintenance FEHDs contracts stipulate that contractors must conduct repair works to the minor defects of the facilities in its public toilets within 24 hours For other defects the FEHD will immediately notify the Architectural Services Department ArchSD or the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department EMSD through the Minor Works Order Record System and require the repair works to be completed within the target timeframe with realtime progress monitoring through the system The AFCD also regularly monitors the condition of facilities in its public toilet facilities and will arrange repairs immediately upon detection of malfunction or damage For its portable toilets the AFCD requires service contractors to follow up on facility malfunction or damage within 24 hours Upon identifying any damaged or malfunctioning toilet facilities at its venues the LCSD will also promptly notify the relevant maintenance department to carry out repair works for urgent repairs the LCSD requires the maintenance department to follow up the repair works within 24 hours Venue management staff will closely monitor the repair progress
To monitor outsourced cleansing services the FEHD the AFCD and the LCSD all conduct regular inspections of the cleanliness cleansing frequency and attendance of duty staff at public toilets under their purview so as to assess the performance of contractors Apart from regular inspections the LCSD also conducts surprise inspections Meanwhile the FEHD makes use of technology to assist inspections such as using the Adenosine Triphosphate luminometer to assess cleanliness with objective data Where cleansing condition is found to be unsatisfactory or service falls short of contractual requirements the FEHD the AFCD and the LCSD will in addition to immediately reminding contractors to make improvements issue verbal or written warnings or default notices to underperforming contractors in accordance with contractual provisions and established mechanisms and may even deduct service fees or terminate the contracts
2 and 3 The FEHD and the ArchSD have set up a working group to jointly enhance public toilet facilities At the planning and design stage they will conduct a comprehensive assessment of factors including the existing site condi
