The SMU has released findings from the 2022 Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey held from July to October 2022, with 2,020 responses collected from Singapore residents. It noted that with the introduction of the tray and crockery return policy at hawker centres, 95% have expressed that they will do so, with 93% in support of this policy. Another 84% believed diners should be responsible for returning trays, rather than relying on cleaners, which was a significant increase from 58% in 2021. However, even with this policy in effect, the hygienic conditions of eateries such as hawker centres have not improved, and was in fact even worse than before, according to the findings. SMU Dean of Students and Professor of Sociology (Practice) Paulin Straughan, co-lead of the study, noted that this could be due to the increase in human traffic after pandemic measures were lifted, which inevitably affected the cleanliness of the venues. She added that these policies need time to take effect, and opined that overall cleanliness in these venues should improve after a few years.