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Restroom products with Detect, Feedback, Eliminate & Clean (DFEC) smart features will now be certified under the Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) certification scheme (Annex B) through a new collaboration between the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS) and the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC). The new certification will leverage SGBC’s existing proficiency in green building product certification and complements RAS’ Happy Toilet Programme (HTP) grading system for public toilets to raise the standard of restroom products.

 The memorandum of understanding was formally signed by SGBC Board Technical Lead Mr. Allen Ang and RAS President Mr. Ho Chee Kit during the 13th Let’s Observe Ourselves (LOO) Awards ceremony, graced by Guest-of-Honour Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr. Amy Khor, to commemorate World Toilet Day held at the Lifelong Learning Institute.

Mr. Ho Chee Kit, President of the RAS, said, “The new certification scheme will not only promote more smart products to meet the required standards, but will also facilitate the evaluation process for business owners and operators in the adoption of public hygiene products restrooms. We are pleased to receive the support from the Singapore Green Building Council and their expertise to certify these products. We strongly believe this new initiative will set a new milestone for our restroom environment to scale to greater heights towards a smart restroom environment.”

The first DFEC product categories launched for certification are hand dryers, ceramic tiles and smart control systems. With the growing emphasis on energy conservation as well as public hygiene, SGBC worked closely with RAS to develop the appropriate certification criteria for these products to ensure that they tick the boxes for efficiency and public health. Usage of these certified products will fulfil HTP certification criteria and go towards a higher rating.

Ar. Tang Kok Thye, President of the SGBC, said, “We are happy and honoured to be able to work with RAS to develop this new certification scheme which will elevate the cleanliness standards of our restrooms. This is very much in line with SGBC’s core work of advocating for a greener, healthier and more sustainable built environment, which is communicated to the wider public through our certification schemes and more recently the Green Means Go green buildings educational campaign. Public health is an area that we recognise green buildings can play a greater role in.”

The new HTP criteria took effect in April 2020, with 4-star rated toilets needing to adopt at least one of the four types of DFEC solutions while 5-star rated toilets have to adopt at least two of the four, with 6-star rated toilets needing to adopt all four types of solutions. With the launch of the new certification programme, all toilets rated 4-star and above will need to adopt SGBC-certified DFEC solutions, with implementation in phases from now till 2022.

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