Utilizing food scraps has helped Eric Tarman-Ramcheck feed his pigs, save valuable landfill space and earn money for college. In May 2000, Eric designed a project that would reuse the food waste from local businesses for a WasteCap food diversion pilot project. Eric also won a college scholarship for his waste reduction achievements through this project

The project included feeding three test pigs all non-meat food scraps with a vitamin supplement while three control pigs were given traditional feed.

Eric’s father, Bill Tarman-Ramcheck collected fruit and vegetable preparation scraps from the Four Points Hotel Sheraton and leftover bakery from Wildflour Bakery on his daily commute home Bill and Eric would then sort through the food to remove any contaminants (rubber bands, plastic wrap, etc). The nutrient content and amounts of food scraps were carefully monitored during the four month project.

A final veterinarian check noted that the test pigs achieved the same high-quality rating as the control group. The meat processor also noted that he could not tell the difference between the pigs fed food waste and those fed traditional feed. The control pigs were auctioned at the Walworth County Fair. The meat from the three test pigs was sold to WasteCap Wisconsin for an awards lunch; Eagle Springs Golf Course for a special event; a community-supported agriculture farmer; and one of the food waste donors, Four Points Hotel Sheraton.

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Statistics

A total of 3,933 pounds were collected from the restaurant and bakery and fed to the test pigs.

Contact
Bill Taman-Ramcheck, REC systems Inc., 262-642-3363