Today in facts you never knew you needed news, we now have the rankings for the worst public toilets around Hong Kong. Why? Because a study was ordered by The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and carried out by a bunch of volunteers (who are these brave souls?). Each public toilet was assessed against a criteria of cleanliness, ventilation, smelliness, and how regularly it was stocked with toilet paper and soap.
They announced their results with a list of the top ten worst public toilets for men and women out of the 67 public toilets under the FEHD. Indeed not the best list to be on! Should you find yourself in either Tsuen Wan, Happy Valley, Aberdeen, or Sham Shui Po, you’re in for a treat, as those districts have the worst offenders – take a look.
Worst male toilets
- Aberdeen Promenade public toilet, Aberdeen
- Tak Wah Park public toilet, Tsuen Wan
- Heung Che Street public toilet, Tsuen Wan
- Sing Woo Road public toilet, Happy Valley
- Tat Tung Road public toilet, Tung Chung
- Yen Chow Street public toilet, Sham Shui Po
- Pei Ho Street Market and Cooked Food Centre public toilet, Sham Shui Po
- Lei Yue Mun (Ling Nam Sun Tsuen village) public toilet, Kwun Tong
- Hong King Street public toilet, Yuen Long
- Smithfield Municipal Services Building’s cooked food centre public toilet, Sai Wan
Worst female toilets
- Aberdeen Promenade public toilet, Aberdeen
- Heung Che Street public toilet, Tsuen Wan
- Sing Woo Road public toilet, Happy Valley
- Tat Tung Road public toilet, Tung Chung
- Yen Chow Street public toilet, Sham Shui Po
- Pei Ho Street Market and Cooked Food Centre public toilet, Sham Shui Po
- Chai Wan Kok Street public toilet, Tsuen Wan
- Tseung Kwan O Public Transport Interchange public toilet, Tseung Kwan O
- Nga Tsin Wai Village public toilet, Wong Tai Sin
The survey also uncovered another fun fact – men’s restrooms are far dirtier than their female counterparts. DAB Sham Shui Po District Council, Mr Lau Ping-yu, said that the most critical problem is the poor hygiene of the floor and odour in the toilets. Yuck. In addition, the facilities are rarely repaired in time and consumables such as hand sanitizers and toilet paper are not replenished quickly enough.
One brave reporter from HK01 went for a ride along during their study and took note of the “slippery floors”, “stains”’and “pile of manure” found. Best of all, the survey comes after it was reported that the government is looking to set HK$500 million aside to give the city’s 200 public toilets a facelift. Which makes us wonder why they bothered going ahead with the survey anyway?
Henry Hung, vice-president of the Toilet Association, yes that’s a real thing, chimed in and said that Hong Kong can learn from the cleanliness of Singapore. He mentioned his recent trip to Lion City last week and told tales of clean public toilets that “reminded him of a garden sanctuary lined with plants and echoing with bird calls.” – this guy knows how to spark toilet goals.