Recycling: A woman gives a container of used cooking oil to a representative from the Kutub Social House Foundation.(JP/Andi M Ibu Aqil)

Jelantah (used cooking oil) can be a hassle to dispose of. It is often thrown out alongside common trash and wastewater but clogs pipe and sewer systems.

Kenya Mandireng Harsi, 36, runs a small business at her home in Semanan, West Jakarta. As she uses cooking oil to make rissoles, she usually uses 2 liters of oil a month.

Kenya said she usually just disposed of the used cooking oil in nearby gutters or trash bins but was beginning to feel that it was a shame to just throw it away.

Instead of just disposing of it, she donated the used cooking oil through Kutub Social House Foundation, which has regularly been picking up her used cooking oil in the past year.

Kutub Social House Foundation offers to pick up Jakartans’ used cooking oil to be sold to biodiesel manufacturers and the earnings are distributed as alms.

“This is a solution for used cooking oil. Instead of just becoming trash, it becomes alms for those in need,” Kenya said.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old housewife Mahfudhotin realized it would be detrimental to throw out her used cooking oil as it would contaminate the environment. 

In the past she just disposed of it in the nearest gutter.

Now, she organizes and collects used cooking oil for her community in Cikarang, Bekasi, West Java, from her neighbors and local catering businesses, to be later donated through Kutub Social House.

The last time she collected used cooking oil from her community, she collected 50 liters.

“I am happy and felt helpful because we no longer pollute the environment [by carelessly disposing of used cooking oil]. Through this program I can tell my neighbors that alms can not only be given in the form of money but also in the form of used cooking oil,” she said.

She said she learned about the program from her fellow volunteers that taught Quran recitation at a nearby mosque.

The jelantah alms, which started in May last year, was to educate people on the danger of reusing cooking oil.

Moreover, the program aims to reduce the amount of used cooking oil that pollutes waterways and ecosystems, as well as using the income from selling the used cooking oil for alms.

“If residents want to donate their used cooking oil, we will give them a jerry can, which they can fill themselves. When the jerry can is full, we will pick it up,” Kutub spokesperson Nanik Apriyani said.

The proceeds will be used for Kutub’s social programs, such as providing scholarships for young hafidz (Quran reciters) or alms and charity events for the poor and orphans. 

Nanik said Kutub also received donations of secondhand items to be used or sold for those in need.

“Turning trash to alms is our movement,” she said.

Kutub Social House has 100 individual regular donors and 20 donors from catering and food businesses.

Nanik said for Jakartans that want to donate their used cooking oil or other unused items, they can contact Kutub Social House by phone at +62 811-9100-147 and arrange a pickup time at a later date.

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