Forum: Cultivate a ‘we first’ clean table culture in Singapore
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Our foodcourts are a reflection of our shared spaces, yet we often rely on cleaners to maintain hygiene.
While fines discourage littering, they don’t instil personal responsibility. Tables can remain dirty because many of us expect someone else to take care of it.
Japan offers an inspiring example with its airport food centres. Cleaning cloths are left at tray return areas for customers to pick up. After finishing a meal, diners wipe their own tables and return their tray and cloth.
Tables stay consistently clean, not because of fines or constant supervision, but because everyone takes ownership.
This is where a “we first” culture can transform Singapore.
If we cultivate a mindset where each of us sees the shared space as “ours”, rather than “someone else’s responsibility”, we can achieve cleaner foodcourts naturally. Efforts like tray return areas and cleaning cloths can support this habit.
Imagine a Singapore where you finish your meal and leave the table clean for the next person. Everyone contributes a little, and the collective effect is extraordinary.
Cleanliness becomes a shared pride, not just a regulation to follow.
If our “we first” culture takes root, I believe that, in just a couple of years, our foodcourts could be consistently clean – not because of fines, but because it’s what we do together.
Foo Siang Yian
