Taipei City Government

The Taipei City Government’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) held the 2019 Excellent Public Restroom Award Ceremony at the first-floor lobby of Taipei City Hall on December 12 to commend 33 outstanding units (refer to attached table) and 33 cleaners. In particular, public restrooms in the National Palace Museum, Taipei Songshan Airport, and Manka Lungshan Temple have been evaluated as Outstanding for 2 years in a row, allowing them to stand out from other competitors and clinch this year’s Benchmark Award.

According to the DEP, Taipei City implemented the public restroom rating system in 2002. In particular, the ratio of Outstanding and Excellent ratings has increased from 50% in 2002 to more than 90% presently, indicating the quality of public restrooms is constantly improving. The public restroom award is divided into 11 categories including restaurant, department store, cinema, and Benchmark Award. The Benchmark Award toilets have come under the spotlight and become the yardstick against which all Excellent Public Restrooms in the city are measured.

The agency commented that the Benchmark Award recipient National Palace Museum is the preeminent collector of Chinese arts and cultural relics in the world, attracting a large number of tourists every year. In consideration of female tourists’ needs, the stylish women’s toilet and accessible toilets have been designed. In order to service the constant flow of passengers, Taipei Songshan Airport has implemented the smart public restroom management system, which automatically monitors the remaining amount of toilet paper and notifies staff to replenish the toilet paper and clean the toilet if needed, thereby saving inspection times and increasing cleaning efficiency. As a class 2 national historic monument, Longshan Temple receives countless visitors daily, and the cleaning staff are able to share the workload efficiently and maintain the best quality of the public restrooms.

The DEP explained that in order to maintain such a high quality and thoughtful toilet environment, besides maintaining and updating the software and hardware on a regular basis, the cleaning staff’s professionalism and dedication are also crucial contributing factors. The 33 award-winning cleaners have demonstrated not only professionalism but also wholehearted dedication, thus their attitude is something that everyone should commend and learn from.

Ms. Cho Hsueh-I is a cleaner working for the Taiwan Railways Administration at the Taipei Railway Station. She is proud to be able to restore the cleanliness of the station’s public restrooms the very next morning after the New Year’s Eve. According to Ms. Cho: “Sometimes when I’m busy cleaning and someone offers me a beverage and thanks me, I always feel so touched and I can really appreciate the friendliness of society.” Ms. Wei Hsiu-Lan, a cleaner at National Taiwan Science Education Center (NTSEC), also expressed “NTSEC is my first job; one day when I was squatting and scrubbing the toilet, a mother and her child came in to use the toilet, she told her child to thank the cleaning lady for keeping the toilet clean and not to make a mess.” She was also deeply touched by the mother’s words. Ms. Lin Hsiu-Yu, a cleaner at Shin Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital, recollects that she once discovered a handbag at work and turned it over to the security office’s lost and found. Later she realized that it belonged to an elderly gentleman, and the handbag contained money for paying his wife’s medical expenses. According to Ms. Lin, the cleaning job allows her to get close to the public, and she is glad to be able to inadvertently help someone in need.

At CPC’s Lishan Street gas station in Neihu, the responsibility of cleaning the public restrooms usually falls on the filling station attendants or the station manager on duty. On one early morning roughly one month after the public restroom overhaul was completed, the station manager on duty was cleaning the public restroom when he noticed that a customer appeared to be looking around for something, so he approached him to see of needed any assistance. The customer replied that he had just come to Taiwan from abroad and he was looking for a place to pay for using such a clean public restroom. The station manager informed the customer that using public restrooms in gas stations is absolutely free, and they are regularly cleaned by the cleaning staff. The customer could not believe his ears and went on to praise and thank the station manager. Such a simple show of appreciation and positive feedback not only encouraged the gas station staff tremendously but also indulged them in a wonderful mood for the entire day.

The DEP noted that since the launch of the Taipei Toilet Plus+ system in late 2015, public restrooms providing thoughtful facilities such as toilet seat covers or toilet seat detergent solutions will be awarded the Taipei Toilet Plus+ label. So far, 6,399 public restrooms in Taipei City are equipped with the said thoughtful facilities, reaching 100% installation rate, therefore the public is able to use the public restrooms with peace of mind. This year, Taipei City Government also stipulated the New Toilet and Toilet Reconstruction Design Principle to enhance the friendliness and service quality of public restrooms in Taipei City. In an attempt to elevate the overall quality of tourist night markets, mobile toilets have been established in Shilin Night Market, Ningxia Night Market, and Bangka Night Market on a trial basis every weekend since late 2019. So far, the policy has received positive feedback from tourists, both domestic and from abroad.

The agency mentioned that to be selected as an Excellent Public Restroom not only represents the acknowledgment of the public restroom management authority’s efforts, but also pays homage to the cleaners - the true unsung heroes of public restrooms. Through the award ceremony, it is hoped to promote positive bathroom etiquette among toilet users and cultivate a sense of gratitude and cherishing what we have. Furthermore, the aim is to promote awareness among the general public that everyone is responsible for keeping the public restrooms clean, as well as to maintain good bathroom etiquette and create a clean, tidy public restroom environment. In the future, the DEP will continue to build clean, comfortable public restrooms and improve the toilet environment in a bid to transform Taipei into a livable and friendly city.