At the end of March 2022, the Bekasi Regency Culture, Youth and Sports Service (Disbudpora) held the 2022 Youth Pioneer Election event entitled Wujudkan Pemuda Kabupaten Bekasi Mandiri melalui Kepeloporan Pemuda. This year, the selection of youth pioneers covered five fields, namely education; religious, social, and cultural; management of natural resources, environment, tourism; food; and technological innovation.
The election of the youth pioneer is an annual event held at three levels, namely district/city, provincial, and national. The goal is to find youth who are pioneers of activities in these five fields which provide benefits to the community. The 2022 National Pioneer Youth Election is one of the work programs run by the Assistant Deputy for Youth Leadership and Pioneering.
One of President University (PresUniv) students, Lula Wanitama entered the election . Lula is an Environmental Engineering Study Program student, batch 2018. At the event, Lula won first place in the field of natural resource management, environment, and tourism. The event was held from the 28th to 29th March 2022.
Soap from Used Cooking Oil
A study by Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan (TNP2K) and Traction Energi Asia revealed that cooking oil consumption in Indonesia in 2019 reached 13 million tons or 16.2 million kiloliters (KL). Unfortunately, only 3 million KL of used cooking oil or 18.5% can be recovered. In fact, used cooking oil can be processed into a high-value commodity.
Used cooking oil is often found as household waste. This problem prompted Lula to create innovations in the recycling of used cooking oil. "Since the Covid pandemic, I have been looking for information on how to manage household waste and recycle it into a products that have an economic value," said Lula.
Finally, Lula has succeeded in creating an innovation that can be a solution to the problem of household waste, especially that of used cooking oil. Lula turns used cooking oil into soap. Lula explained. As well as developing the soap production process, she also held a workshop for housewives to demonstrate how to manage household waste. Because of this innovation, Lula was able to become the first winner in the field of natural resource management in the Youth Pioneer Election of Bekasi Regency.
Save Our Earth with Sebuka
February 2022. Lula and her mother founded the brand Sebuka. Both have the same vision, which is to make recycled products from household waste that have economic value and invite housewives to be able to manage waste in their own homes. Lula said the processed waste products could be sold to help the family's income. Lula's mother is a craftsman who focuses on recycling waste.
She said, “Sebuka will be a place to innovate in the field of recycling household waste and encourage women to process waste. Household waste management plays an important role in saving the environment. Sebuka is an acronym, based on Selamatkan Bumi (Save Our Earth).” Lula also hopes that Sebuka can carry out more training and promote soap production so that they will be better able to encourage housewives to manage their household waste.
Currently, Sebuka has three superior products, namely used cooking oil soap, liquid soap, and recycled paper. Sebuka liquid soap is different from other liquid soaps. This liquid soap is made from Methyl Ester Sulfonate which contains an eco enzyme. Eco enzyme is the result of the fermentation of fruit and vegetable waste. This Eco Enzyme contains enzymes that are useful as natural cleaning agents. (Gilang Suryanata, PR team. Photo: Lula)
