Data published by the international non-governmental organization Fern, which focuses on the forestry sector within the European Union, reveals that Indonesia occupies the number one position in the world as the largest consumer and producer of palm oil. The high consumption of cooking oil has resulted in an abundance of used cooking oil, namely waste oil that comes from the remaining use of corn oil, vegetable oil, ghee, and so on. There are still many people who are not aware of the dangers caused by environmental pollution if used cooking oil is thrown away carelessly.
An initial study by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction in 2020 noted that in 2019, national consumption of palm oil reached 16.2 million kilo liters (KL). From this figure, the average used cooking oil produced is in the range of 40-60 percent or in the range of 6.46 – 9.72 million KL.
Used cooking oil waste, which is included in the B3 waste category (Hazardous and Toxic Materials), can cause water and soil pollution, thereby triggering damage to the ecosystem. Used cooking oil that is disposed of carelessly poses a risk of increasing levels of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the waters. This causes the surface of the water to be covered with a layer of oil. As a result, sunlight cannot enter the waters, which causes the death of biota in the waters.
One way to reduce the disposal of used cooking oil which can pollute the environment and disrupt the ecosystem is to reprocess it. If used properly, used cooking oil has quite a high market value as it can be used to make marketable products such as plant fertilizer, soap, fuel for oil lamps, cosmetics, household appliance lubricants, and pet food.
The Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI) carried out community service (pengmas) actions to encourage residents in Sunter Agung Village, North Jakarta to be wiser in managing used cooking oil. The activity which took place on August 26th 2023 was entitled “Education Discussing the Use of Used Cooking Oil Waste in Improving the Community’s Economy” and discussed the use of used cooking oil which can be recycled into various products.
The service team was chaired by a lecturer from the UI Insurance and Actuarial Administration study program, Yulial Hikmah, S.Si., M.Si., and consisted of Dr. Fia Fridayanti Adam, M.Si.; Radityo Kusumo Santoso, S.I.A., M.M.; as well as five students. According to Yulial Hikmah, “This community service activity aims to increase housewives’ awareness (of) the importance of using used cooking oil waste effectively and help them convert used cooking oil waste into a profit for the community’s economy. We hope that this activity can solve the main problems of household needs properly and appropriately.”
Support for these community service activities was also provided by the Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D. He said, “The community service activities carried out by UI Vocational Program lecturers and students are expected to have a big impact on housewives in managing used cooking oil to improve the household economy.” The community service activities were attended by more than thirty participants consisting of housewives who have problems related to used cooking oil waste. By participating in this activity, housewives are equipped with the knowledge to increase family income through the use of used cooking oil.
If viewed from an economic perspective, the use of used cooking oil can generate quite high income. This is because the costs used are affordable but can result in goods that have selling value. Through the use of technology, they can also market goods resulting from the use of used cooking oil via social media. Tini (54), one of the community service participants, expressed her gratitude for the community service activities organized by UI Vocational program.
“This activity is very impressive because it helps us as housewives to overcome the problem of used cooking oil. Apart from that, we have become more concerned about the environment, especially the environment around us,” said Tini.
