Dumpster Dining: How One Family Saved $10,000 and Thrived in a Capitalist World

The Watsons lead a lifestyle that might not be considered glamorous, but it allows them to live the life they had always envisioned.

“We live quite simply, but it’s far from being a sacrifice,” they explain.

“In Australia, we are incredibly fortunate to have access to so much. Just because we can consume more doesn’t mean we should,” Emelie remarked.

Emelie and Jon have the advantage of living without a mortgage and have the flexibility to decide when they want to work.

To support their family’s way of life, they engage in casual or part-time work, with Emelie involved in relief teaching and Jon in engineering, together earning around $190,000 annually.

“We’ve only ever worked a maximum of four days a week for a year,” Jon said, adding that the couple is now “trialling retirement”.

There’s no need for full-time hours when they rarely spend money on groceries.

Meat, bread, fruit, vegetables and everything in between can be found discarded in a waste trip near the supermarket loading docks.

The family, on average, will spend less than $40 per week on extra food they may need – but say they go weeks without spending a cent.

“A year’s worth of dumpster diving for our family of four saves us between $7,000 and $10,000 on groceries,” Jon said.

“From Friday night until Sunday or Monday morning, we go twice a day, morning and night, until we find that the bin has been replenished.”

Emelie said it is “startling” to see just how much edible food goes straight into the bins of an evening.

Supermarkets habitually throw out food that is either past its “best before” date or are slightly imperfect.

“We’ve shared some of our spoils with other people who’ve not been into dumpster diving, and when they see the quality of the food that we get out of the dumpster and the quantity, they’re shocked,” Emelie said.

“There’s no compromise really on our diet or our nutrition,” Jon added.

“In fact, we probably eat better eating what we take out of the waste stream than what we would normally.”

The Watsons say their local supermarket is aware that they take food from the dumpster.

They are mindful of being respectful of staff and employ safe practices.

“If you make anything difficult for the staff or the store, you just give them excuses to lock you out and lock other people out as well, who may depend on dumpster diving for survival” Jon said.

Australia’s major supermarkets have previously discouraged people from dumpster diving, citing health and safety risks.

Emelie and Jon say the risk is worth the reward.

“If we get the timing wrong, we’re exposed to maggots and putrid stuff. But life is not without risk,” Jon explained.

“We experience a little bit of discomfort in order to do the right thing.

“The reason that it’s all being wasted is because of a hyper-concern about minimising risk, which proves to be very wasteful.”

The savings extend far beyond groceries. 

The couple also choose to cycle everywhere instead of using a car, helping them avoid potentially thousands of dollars in extra fuel costs while motorists battle soaring prices at the pump.

At home, they use a veggie garden, rely on solar panels for power and pick up anything they need at second-hand stores, tips or curbside.

“Most of our life is designed around doing things without needing a car or without needing any substantial resources,” Jon added.

“I’d say that we’ve won at capitalism, and I don’t just mean financially.”

Part of Emelie and Jon’s lifestyle, described as “living more with less”, is to help fund their charitable endeavours.

In 2024, the pair funnelled over $47,500 of their annual income to healthcare, food insecurity and educational organisations.

It’s all about making the earth a better place and minimising their footprint while they are doing it.

“There is reward and satisfaction, feeling like part of a solution rather than part of a problem,” Jon said.

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