2.1 Objective

Premises patronised primarily by the members of the public shall have adequate provision of toilets. The public toilets shall be designed to withstand heavy usage. Ventilation is therefore important. The design shall also take into consideration ease of maintenance and should facilitate proper toilet use and personal toilet hygiene.

Note: Publications such as <A Guide to Better Public Toilet Design & Maintenance> may also be used for further reference.

 2.2 Definition Of Public Toilet

2.2.1 A public toilet is defined as a toilet that the general public has free access, regardless of payment/ non-payment to access the premises. The general public is free to access the public toilet without having to be a resident, student, staff, member or a guest, or a regular client. Toilets in following places are classified as public toilets:

shopping mall or centre, including the floor in commercial buildings with shops;

supermarket and wet market;

eating establishment and food centre (restaurant, coffeeshop, hawker centre, food court)/ bar/ nightclub/ discotheque/ pub;

conference hall/ cinema/ theatre;

park/ tourist site/;

bus terminal/ interchange;

petrol station;

community centre/ community clubs;

exhibition hall/ convention hall;

MRT station;

stadium;

public swimming pool.

Although toilets within premises which the general public does not have free access (e.g. condominiums, terraced workshops, places of worship, etc) are not covered under this code of practice, QPs are encouraged to adopt the guidelines stipulated here.

  2.2.2 Although construction sites are not freely accessible to the public, sanitary facilities in a construction site shall be provided in accordance with the requirements stipulated in Appendix 2.

2.3 General Design Criteria

The general design requirements for public toilet shall be as follows:

• The walls shall be lined with smooth wall tiles or other impervious materials.
• The design of the toilet’s main entrance shall preferably be such that it can do away with a door, and the cubicles, urinals and mirrors shall be sited away from the line of sight from the main entrance.
• The minimum lighting level shall be 300 lux.

  2.4 Sanitary Fittings Required In Public Toilet

Sanitary appliances and fittings installed in public toilets shall be of heavy-duty classification and quality.

Where sanitary provisions are to be made for wheelchair users, such provisions shall be in accordance with the requirements stipulated in BCA’s “Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility in Buildings”.

A glossary of the terms used in this section is given in Appendix 8.

The number of public toilets and sanitary fittings to be provided in a building, which the general public is expected to patronise, is given in Appendix 2.

• Water closet pans shall be the pedestal type. Where there is more than one cubicle, at least one squatting type WC pan is to be provided.
• Each urinal shall be fitted with a sensor-operated flush valve with manual override feature.
• Each water closet shall be fitted with a sensor-operated flush valve and coupled with manual by-pass and manual override.
• For volume of water per flush in urinals and water closets, please refer to the latest Public Utilities (Water Supply) Regulations.
• A water tap point coupled with spring nozzle shall be provided within every cubicle where a squatting WC pan is provided.
• The cubicle, where a squatting WC pan is provided, should be kerbed such that water will not flow out of the boundary of the cubicle. The cubicle floor shall be properly graded towards the gully trap within the cubicle.

Wash-hand basins shall be under -counter. Other designs are allowed provided that they can minimise the problem of water spilling over from the basin to the counter. For basins that sit on top of the counter or are stand-alone, these shall be deep enough to prevent water splashing out of the basins when in use.

• All wash hand basin taps shall have their flow rate suitably adjusted to minimise splashing and shall be self-closing delayed-action taps (mechanical or sensor type) taps. Care shall be taken to position the tap such that it prevents splashing of water outside the basin.

 2.5 Accessories To Be Provided

• Liquid soap or foam soap dispenser

One soap dispenser shall be provided for every two wash hand basins, subject to a minimum of one. The dispenser shall be positioned near to the basins. The dispenser shall have a transparent window so that the level of soap in the dispenser is clearly visible.

• Hand-dryer blower or paper towel dispenser

A minimum of one hand-dryer blower and/or paper towel dispenser shall be provided near the wash hand basin area.

• Litterbins

A minimum of one litterbin shall be provided near the wash hand basin area. A sanitary bin for the disposal of sanitary pads shall be provided in each WC cubicle in the female toilet.

• Toilet paper holder

A jumbo toilet paper roll holder or a toilet tissue sheet dispenser of similar capacity shall be installed in each WC cubicle.

2.6 Ventilation

• The toilet shall preferably be naturally ventilated.
• If mechanically ventilated, the air exchange rate shall have a minimum of 15 air changes per hour. Service access ducts, if fully enclosed, shall be connected to the mechanical ventilation system. Suitable fresh air inlet grilles shall be provided to ensure an air exchange rate of 5 air changes per hour.
• The exhaust system shall dispel the air directly outdoors without causing any nuisance to neighbouring premises.