A spark of ingenuity and a commitment to sustainability have led a creative junior high school student in Surabaya to achieve something remarkable: upcycling discarded milkfish waste into premium, nutritious nuggets. This innovative project by Muhammad Faiq Dzaki (15), a student at SMPN 1 Surabaya, showcases the power of young minds to tackle environmental challenges with practical solutions.
Faiq’s project, aptly named “Fish Bone Crackers and Milkfish Skin Nuggets,” focuses on transforming parts of the milkfish often considered waste – the bones and skin – into valuable food products. Recognizing the significant amount of byproduct generated by the milkfish aquaculture industry in Surabaya and surrounding areas, Faiq sought a way to give this waste a new, valuable purpose.
His upcycling process involves a meticulous series of steps. The milkfish bones and skin are thoroughly cleaned before undergoing boiling and grinding. These processed materials are then combined with readily available ingredients such as tapioca flour and eggs, along with aromatic spices like garlic and pepper, to create the nugget mixture. Notably, the inclusion of finely ground bones potentially enhances the calcium content of the final product, adding a nutritional advantage.
Faiq’s creativity and dedication have been recognized at the East Java Provincial Science Project Olympiad (OSPEJ), where his project earned a silver medal in the environmental science category. Judges were impressed by the project’s potential to mitigate food waste, generate economic value from a discarded resource, and offer a healthier food alternative.
The implications of Faiq’s upcycling innovation are far-reaching. If implemented on a larger scale, this method could offer a sustainable pathway for managing milkfish processing waste, reducing the strain on landfills, and creating new economic opportunities for the local aquaculture industry. Furthermore, the premium nuggets present a nutritious and potentially calcium-rich food option for consumers.
Muhammad Faiq Dzaki’s achievement serves as an inspiring example of how creative thinking and a passion for sustainability can lead to impactful solutions.