The awards recognise - for the first time - individuals, organisations and even cleaners who go beyond keeping toilets clean.

Organised by the Restroom Association, the awards are part of the LOO, or Let's Observe Ourselves, campaign launched last year. Nominations open on Thursday and the awards will be given out during the World Toilet Summit and Expo to be held here in December.

There are schemes in place to recognise model toilets but not the people behind them, said the association's president Tan Puay Hoon.

One, the Happy Toilet Programme, awards toilets three to five stars for their cleanliness, design and eco-friendliness.

The campaign targets to have 70 per cent of public toilets here rated three stars or more by end of next year, a daunting task considering that less than one per cent, or about 300 of 35,000 public toilets here, have received the ratings so far.

But the association is confident that it can achieve the target. It is working with various agencies such as the National Environment Agency and the CDCs. More premise owners are also turning up to seek help in sprucing up their restrooms.

Besides the awards, the association on Wednesday launched its online 'LOO Map', where one can find their nearest Happy Toilet.

Clean toilets are all about public health and personal hygiene, said Ms Tan. And this cannot be more apt at a time when infectious diseases like the H1N1 flu are in the air. The state of the toilet also reflects on the culture of the people and whether Singapore is a first-world country, she added.

For more details on the awards and the LOO Map, go to www.toilet.org.sg.