Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): More restaurants now charge for plain water and some price bottled water, the same as sugary drinks. This nudges consumers towards sugar laden beverages, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. Free or low cost drinking water should be made more widely available across food and beverage (F&B) outlets, shopping malls, hotline, coffee shops and public spaces.
This supports healthier choices and reduces unnecessary costs for consumers. I urge MSE to encourage and work with F&B outlets, coffee shops and malls to provide free, or low cost drinking water as a best practice. MSE should also promote the culture of carrying reusable water bottles as part of Singapore’s sustainability efforts.
Refilling reusable bottles cuts down our reliance on single use plastics. By nudging businesses, building owners and the public towards these norms, we can help Singaporeans stay hydrated while making choices that benefit their health, their wallets and the environment.
The Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan): On Mr Gerald Giam’s suggestion to provide free or low-cost drinking water to reduce plastic waste, tap water in Singapore is safe for drinking. Water dispensers are also readily available at hawker centres and in common areas, such as parks, bus interchanges and terminals, where one can simply fill up with a reusable which we have been promoting.
The Chairman: Mr Gerald Giam.
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: I thank Senior Minister of State Amy Khor for responding to my cut. Would the Ministry consider encouraging or requiring all F&B outlets to provide plain drinking water at free or low cost to customers, instead of charging $2 or more for bottled water, which often comes in a plastic single-use bottle? This will promote healthier beverage choices by making plain water more accessible and reduce consumption of sugary drinks.
Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan: I must say that I am glad that Mr Louis Ng has got a fresh perspective from my colleague.
But with regard to Mr Gerald Giam’s question, as I have said, tap water is safe for drinking in Singapore. I think PUB has reiterated many times and we do have lots of water dispenser, water points, water cooler at the hawker centres, at regional parks, at the bus terminals and interchanges.
In fact, BCA’s Green Mark scheme actually awards points to developers or building owners who provide water coolers or water points within their premises, within their building, whether it is in a common area near the toilets and so on. And even BCA, the Health Promotion Board had a Green Mark for healthier workplaces, also awards points to office premises which put water points within the offices. So, drinking water is very accessible. You just need to bring your reusable, which we have been promoting through our “Say YES to Waste Less” campaign, for many many years, and then you can actually fill up and get your water.
With regard to the F&B outlets, we do not have any plans to go and require them to provide free drinking water, for instance, or at low cost. I think it is up to the F&B businesses to decide how to charge and so on. There is a lot of competition, so they will take that into account.
The other thing is, actually, water is a valuable resource and even though water can be taken freely from the tap, it is not free, because the F&B owners have to pay for the water. And there is a cost to serving the water, the table water, as well as to wash the glasses and so on that it is served in. So, we will need to allow them to decide how they are going to provide the service to their customers and whether they will charge or not. But regardless, the reality is that water is easily accessible from various drinking points.
Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment
4 March 2025
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2595
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 