'Improved HK Toilets Will Make Your Eyes Light Up'

The Hong Kong Toilet Association on Friday said while the overall hygiene of the city’s public washrooms has “definitely improved” after the government stepped up refurbishment efforts, more could be done to keep them clean.

The group invited members of the public to rate 250 public toilets around the city, while its members also conducted spot-checks on some of them.

The association listed the best three public toilets as being those at the Peak, Stanley, and Rumsey Street in Central, which had undergone a facelift over the past two years.

Chairman William So said his eyes "lit up" when he inspected the restroom at the Peak, which had automatic sensors installed in the water taps, soap dispensers and hand dryers near the basin.

The group’s former head, Alex Chui, also said he was impressed with the “one-stop” arrangement there.

"In the past, after you wash your hands, you need to walk to the box to get the tissue paper, and then water will drip along the way. But now… you can wash your hands, get your hand soap and blow-dry them all in the same spot," Chui said, adding that it all goes down to good management going forward.

"There are two [public toilets] in the Sham Shui Po, both newly renovated. One is properly managed, which is still in very good condition, and the other is quite bad… Renovation, nice hardware is always a starting point. But from there, you really have to pay attention to the general management."

The worst toilets, meanwhile, are those at Lung Wan Street in Sheung Shui and Tin Ho Road Playground in Tin Shui Wai.

The association said when members inspected the Tin Shui Wai toilet, there were even faeces outside the toilet bowl in one of the cubicles.

"Sometimes the condition is really bad. I mean you don't want to enter the toilet, even for a man like me. The floor is really wet, like typhoon… The smell is quite bad and repelling,” Chui explained.

He called on the government to consider penalising cleansing contractors which perform badly in managing the facilities.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department had earlier said that it has given 141 public toilets a facelift over the past three years, and hopes to renovate another 110 or so by 2024.