SINGAPORE – Autonomous pavement sweepers have been progressively deployed to clean up Esplanade Park and East Coast Park since April, the National Environment Agency (NEA) revealed in a Sept 4 update on its public cleanliness efforts.

The machines are being trialled as part of the agency’s push to improve cleaning productivity and reduce reliance on manual labour. “(They) could potentially deliver up to 30 per cent productivity savings for routine pavement cleaning,” NEA told The Straits Times.

Such sweepers were first deployed in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, in July 2025, and have remained in operation there.

The agency plans to roll out the robots to more parks and park connectors deemed suitable for the technology, it added without providing a timeline.

Amid NEA’s efforts, there has been a dip in Singapore residents’ satisfaction with the cleanliness of shared spaces and public toilets, according to the results of a public survey also released on Sept 4.

The Singapore Management University’s (SMU) latest Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey, which is in its seventh edition, found that the 91 per cent of respondents reported satisfaction of the cleanliness of public spaces, according to a composite measure of satisfaction across 20 public spaces.

This figure dropped from 94 per cent in 2023.

Void decks, corridors, and lift lobbies suffered the most significant drop among public spaces, falling from 89.7 per cent in 2023 to 80.9 per cent in 2025.

The drop was bigger for public toilets in coffee shops, which remained the lowest-rated among public toilets, tumbling from 60.2 per cent in 2023 to just 48.3 per cent in 2025.

These coffee shop amenities have been a focus area for NEA.

In the first half of 2026, about 150 enforcement actions were taken against poor-performing coffee shop owners, the agency said in its Sept 4 update.

In 2025 alone, m...