USE OF DISPOSABLE UTENSILS BY HAWKERS (Policy review)

Dr Wong Kwei Cheong asked the Minister for the Environment if his Ministry will review the policy of urging hawkers to use disposable utensils in view of (i) persistent complaints by hawkers about the additional cost involved; and (ii) complaints by customers about the inconvenience of using such disposable utensils.

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Mr Speaker, Sir, the present practice in hawker centres is for individual stallholders to provide their own crockery. After the customers have finished their meals, the stallholders are expected to collect the used crockery. Very often, however, they do not. Tables are left cluttered with used crockery because the stallholders do not have the time to retrieve their crockery, especially during peak hours. This has therefore often caused delays and annoyance to new customers waiting to be served. Often also, stallholders will gather together all the used utensils that do not belong to them and place them on the floor in order to clear the tables to acommodate new customers. Such practices are not desirable from a public health standpoint.

The use of disposable crockery allows for a centralized system of clearing tables. Soiled disposable crockery can be cleared away immediately by a small team of workers. There is no need for retrieval by stallholders and tables can be cleared and cleaned quicker and more efficiently. Overall cleanliness and hygiene will be improved compared to the present conditions where there is often just too much waste left all over the place.

The use of disposable crockery is also more hygienic and because stallholders generally do not pay enough attention to washing their crockery thoroughly when business is hectic, as it invariably happens in the popular hawker centres which are frequented by both locals and tourists alike.

With disposable crockery, stallholders will save on the use of water and the need to replace chipped and stained crockery. Service to customers will be faster, more efficient, thus enabling stallholders to transact more business. Worker utilization will also be more efficient, thus saving on labour costs and improving productivity. Over the longer run, the tangible and intangible benefits derived from the use of disposable crockery will offset any immediate extra costs incurred by the stallholders in introducing disposable crockery.

I do not think that the majority of customers are finding the use of disposable crockery inconvenient. However, some may need more time to make the necessary adjustments, as obviously disposable crockery is not meant to be used exactly in the same way as one would use melamine or metal utensils. Stallholders may also need to modify to some extent the preparation and the serving of certain kinds of food, for example, meats may have to be cut into smaller pieces for customers to manage easily, using disposable utensils.

Disposable crockery is already being used extensively in many food centres such as Changi Airport Canteen, Picnic Food Court, Forum Galleria Hawker Centre and my Ministry's own cafeteria, with no serious problems. In addition, many stallholders have been selling take-away foods in disposable containers, and most people are eating out of such disposable containers with no undue problems. With disposable crockery, the customer is assured of a fresh plate, a fresh bowl, and a fresh cup at every meal.

The introduction of disposable crockery in the five hawker centres is a pilot project. The hawker centres included in this pilot project will all enjoy good patronage with high business turnover and therefore ideally suited to the use of disposable crockery. The project has just begun and, like many other new projects, it has teething problems. Given sufficient time for adjustments by both stallholders and customers, I am confident that disposable crockery will not only be accepted but will be preferred by the large majority. My Ministry is monitoring the situation closely and where disposable crockery is really not suitable for certain foods or in specific circumstances, we will make exemptions in such cases.

Dr Wong Kwei Cheong (Cairnhill): Sir, firstly, were the hawkers in the five selected centres consulted before they were asked to use the disposable utensils? Secondly, are the hawkers in these selected centres compelled to use the disposable utensils even though they may find it inconvenient? Thirdly, will the Ministry extend this practice to all hawkers in Singapore eventually?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: First of all, they had been consulted, even with the CCCs, MCs and I believe lately they have also discussed this problem with the MPs. Secondly, they have not been compelled to use such things but they have been persuaded. Finally, as to whether we will extend it to all hawker centres, the answer is yes, once the pilot project is completed.

Mr Heng Chiang Meng (Jalan Kayu): Sir, may I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary whether his Ministry has any plans to combat any general price increase by the hawkers because of this new policy?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Actually there is no necessity for the hawkers to increase their prices. Because if you look at the disposable crockery as such, it fits into the present system better than the china ware or the melamine ware. Perhaps I could explain. The present system is this. The food is prepared by the hawker who puts it into a melamine ware or china ware and, serves it to the customer. After the customer has eaten, the hawker or his assistant comes along and takes it away, stacks it somewhere for washing later on. If the Member goes to the Newton Hawker Centre or other more popular hawker centres, he will see stacks of these bowls, cups and plates waiting to be washed. In the case of disposable polystyrene crockery, the same thing happens. He prepares, he puts it into the polystyrene and he serves. But the difference is that it is thrown away and a new polystyrene crockery is used. So it is faster. It saves manpower. It increases productivity. It saves water. You do not have to replace chipped wares and so on. And it will offset the 10 cents. Therefore, there is no justification for the hawkers to increase their prices.

Mr Heng Chiang Meng: Sir, does this mean that his Ministry would take up all cases of unjustified price increases when they receive complaints from consumers?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: We will do what we can. But I think the Member for Jalan Kayu is aware that we believe in free market forces. In the newspapers, somebody wrote to say that there was an increase of 50 cents or 60 cents or something like that. If I am a consumer, I will just not go to that stall. Eventually, market forces will have to operate. And a hawker who is more honest, who serves his consumers better quality food, gives better service and also cleaner food with the polystyrenes, there are less chances of contamination. You might like to think of popular hawker centres like the Newton Hawker Centre. All kinds of people go to the Newton Hawker Centre, the old, the young, the fat, the thin, the healthy, the not-so-healthy, the locals as well as the tourists. And we do not know who is healthy and who is not healthy. So there is a possibility that diseases can be transmitted through poor food handling and through poor hygiene. The important thing is that the hawker must be able in these days and times with younger people expecting higher standards and so on and so forth to present that image, the image of a developed country rather than an undeveloped country. And that being the case, I think they should be able to attract more customers and there should be no problems.

Mr Tan Soo Khoon: Sir, would his Ministry consider placing in the hawker centres large disposable bins such as the type found in fast food restaurants, so as to allow customers to throw away the disposable crockery?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: I think that is a good idea and I will ask the Ministry to look into it.

Dr Ang Kok Peng (Buona Vista): Sir, has the Ministry done any costing of the two methods of hawking food?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: On the actual costing, no. But I have got the prices of some of these polystyrene containers and the Member may wish to know what the costs are like. If you use a small bowl, it is 3 cents. If you use a medium sized bowl it is 3 1/2 cents, and a large bowl is about 7 cents. As for the plates, it is the same, about 3 cents, 5 cents and 6 cents. For spoons it is 1 1/4 cents. A fork and spoon cost 2 1/2 cents. Chopsticks cost 1 1/4 cents. So you can almost estimate that it is not very much.

Dr Ang Kok Peng: Sir, although it is exciting to know the cost of the various items, what I am interested to know is, by using these disposable wares, does it really cost the hawker more than the present system?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: I have already given the explanation earlier on in my answer to one of the Members. Yes, it is going to cost about 10 cents more per service. But weigh this against the tremendous advantages the hawker gets out of this system. That 10 cents will be nothing. I do not think he should raise prices because there is no justification for it at all.

Dr S. Vasoo (Bo Wen): Sir, if the Ministry believes in private enterprise and initiative, why not allow these hawkers to have their own initiative? Why should we then suggest the procedures that they should follow?

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: When you are used to one way of doing things, you stick to that way of doing things, rightly or wrongly. But when we know as a matter of fact that disposable utensils are much better, they are more productive, they reduce the risk to consumers in terms of safeguarding their health, and when we know that it is a saving on our water resources and we know also that there are advantages plus, plus, plus; then of course we have to go out and persuade them. And I think that it is good if Members of Parliament will join us in this crusade because it will help us at the end of it all to achieve the targets of the Vision of 1999.

Some hon. Members rose -

Mr Speaker: I will not allow any more questions as there is a Ministerial Statement coming up. I think it is the end of Question Time. Ministerial Statement, Dr Tan.