Several mosques across Java, with support from governors, have adopted a plastic ban in distributing qurban (sacrificial) meat during Idul Adha the Day of Sacrifice, which fell on Sunday.

Wealthier Muslims shared thousands of meat packages in besek (containers made of plaited bamboo) and other ecofriendly packaging for qurban meat instead of plastic bags.

On Jl. Kenari I in Senen, Central Jakarta, women flocked to a parking area of a closed shop in an alley where hundreds of besek were stacked for Idul Adha.

While their male counterparts prepared to slaughter sacrificial animals, the women were cleaning the surface of banana leaves and tearing them into smaller pieces. They then placed the leaves inside each besek.

“The leaf prevents juices from the meat from leaking, so people will not ask for plastic bags to keep their hands clean while carrying their besek,” said a resident named Nani. “We’re doing this to avoid using plastic. It would be useless if we still had to wrap [the besek] in plastic bags.”

The neighborhood’s qurban committee head, Ahmad Ibnu Batutah, said residents had gotten the besek from a donor.

“We received 300 sets of besek. We decided to use the containers and lids separately, so we actually have 600 besek in total,” he said.

Ibnu’s team sacrificed one cow, one sheep and eight goats this year. Their meat would be distributed in 500 servings, so the neighborhood would not have to buy more besek, he said.

“To avoid going back to plastic bags, next year, we will ask people to bring their own containers or we will use ecofriendly bags. A besek is actually quite pricey, around Rp 2,000 [14 US cents] a piece,” Ibnu explained.

Meanwhile, the management of Istiqlal Mosque also decided to use besek after previously announcing it would use ecofriendly plastic bags to distribute qurban meat. However, it still used plastic to wrap the meat before placing it inside a besek.

The use of ecofriendly packaging for qurban meat has also spread outside the capital.

In Surabaya, East Java, the management of Al Akbar Mosque used besek and teak leaves, a method also used by the qurban committee for SMP 3 state junior high school in Malang. In Blitar, also in East Java, the Blitar Police used 500 besek, while Miftahul Jannah Mosque used 1,000 besek and banana leaves.

Meanwhile, the qurban committee in Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Semarang, Central Java, used 5,000 besek to contain qurban meat from 24 goats, 15 cows and one buffalo.

In Yogyakarta, Al Ittihad Mosque in Sleman distributed qurban meat to 178 people using besek instead of plastic bags.

“Imagine how much plastic waste we can reduce during Idul Adha if a small mosque in a village like this alone could save 178 plastic bags,” said Al Ittihad Mosque management head Syamsul Hadi.

In Bandung, West Java, the Al Murabbi Mosque’s qurban committee opted to use degradable plastic bags made from cassava.

According to the head of the mosque’s welfare council, Mundarwiyarso, cassava bags are more flexible and cheaper than besek, costing only Rp 200 a piece.

On Sunday, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil called on Muslims to refrain from using plastic bags on Idul Adha.

“This is a suggestion: Could we please not use plastic bags when sharing qurban meat?” he said.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo made the same call. He donated cattle through Baiturrahman Mosque in Semarang and said he had specifically asked for the meat to be distributed in a more environmentally friendly method.

“They could use besek and leaves. I’m supporting small steps in reducing plastic waste,” Ganjar said.

On July 19, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan had signed a circular that urges clerics and qurban committees to distribute their qurban meat with environmentally friendly packaging.

“Please offer a religious [perspective] on the importance of preventing ecological damage through the use of ecofriendly meat containers,” he says in the circular.

In response, city-owned market operator Pasar Jaya made 20,000 besek available for sale at 112 locations across the capital in July. Thirty-seven of these were outlets owned by Pasar Jaya. Each besek was sold at Rp 2,000.

On Sunday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo urged Indonesians to practice social piety.

“[Let’s improve our] social piety toward our surroundings, [including our] friends, neighbors and relatives,” Jokowi said after Eid prayer in Bogor, West Java, as reported by Antara news agency.

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