I haven’t done a food shop in 4 years, I just eat out of the bin – it’s saved me £16k & I even serve it to my friends

RUMMAGING through a rubbish bin in the corner of a supermarket car park, Sahar Khalili is thrilled when she pulls out salmon steaks, posh cheeses and delicious puddings.

Without having to fork out a penny the 37-year-old has bagged enough goodies to keep her going for three weeks, and after a quick rinse they'll be ready to eat.

And because Sahar hasn't done a weekly shop in a supermarket for the past four years, she has has racked up huge savings.

She explains: “Before I started dumpster diving I would spend around £75 a week on food.

“Four years later I still haven’t bought a thing and I am £16,000 up.

It was February 2019 while working in the bakery department of her local supermarket that Sahar first became aware of how much food was thrown away.

Each morning, as much as 200 freshly baked items from the day before ended up in the bin because it was company policy.

After three months at the supermarket, Sahar landed a job as a business analyst but the excess waste from her old job weighed on her mind.

Speaking to Fabulous, Sahar, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, says: “I did a bit of research and I was shocked.

“According to OzHarvest, Aussies waste 7.6 million tonnes of food each year – 70 per cent of which is perfectly edible.”

Sahar did some more digging and found that the five top most wasted foods were fruit and veg, bagged salads and leftovers.

She says: “Thinking back to how much food I’d thrown away from just one department of the supermarket, the stats seemed to check out,  especially if every store in the country did the same.

“I decided I needed to minimise my impact, vowing not to over-shop and to use any leftovers from every meal I prepared.”

Whilst researching more ways she could reduce her waste, Sahar came across a Facebook group for 'dumpster divers' – people who take items (mostly food) that’s been thrown away in skip bins by companies.

Initially, Sahar was cynical that anyone could 'shop' straight from a rubbish bin.

“I wasn’t convinced people actually did it, but others in the group assured me they did, and had never eaten better,” Sahar says.

“They told me they ate like kings.”

Sahar read their advice on food safety and diving etiquette, which included making sure that accessing the bins wasn’t breaking any trespassing laws.

She was also warned by the bin diving professionals to check expiry dates carefully whilst making sure vacuum seals were intact to avoid getting sick.

Armed with knowledge, Sahar waited until after dark before taking the plunge for the first time.

"I drove to my local supermarkets where I discovered several skip bins that were unlocked," she explains.

“Reaching inside, I had high hopes of stumbling across a bounty of food.

Diving into the bin was like walking into a grocery store – only everything was free.

Sahar Khalili

“But after a few minutes of rummaging, I only found mountains of cardboard.

“Back home, I asked members of the online group what I’d done wrong but they told me to be consistent.”

Two days later, Sahar tried dumpster diving again and this time she hit a goldmine.

“Diving into the bin this time was like walking into a grocery store – only everything was free,” she says.

“Tubs of cold yoghurt, ice cream, salmon steaks and brie cheese that were still edible, were piled high.

“Some had been thrown out due to damaged packing.

“I also got a bag of fresh courgette and a box of green pears.”

It wasn’t just fresh food that Sahar sourced from bins, she also found items for her home.

“I found saucepans, as well as toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and plastic wrap," she recalls.

“Lugging my haul to the boot of my car, I couldn’t believe my luck. At home, I gave everything a wash and laid it on the table.

“‘I’ve got enough ingredients to last me three weeks,’ I told my mum on the phone.

“But she was embarrassed and warned me not to tell other people.

“But it didn’t stop me. I was proud of the food I’d saved from landfill, and wanted to challenge the social stigma.”

Sahar made it a regular habit, diving into four different bins every two days.

But living alone she quickly realised that she wouldn’t be able to get through her haul alone.

“I didn’t want to put everything back in the bin so I decided I just needed to get more people around my table,” she says.

“Inviting my friends over for a dinner party, I set out dips, chips, cheese and salami on the table, and cooked up a storm of lamb shanks, roasted veggies and pasta, all of which I’d found dumpster diving.

“Before everyone dug in, I came clean with where the ingredients came from.

“While some were concerned they would get sick I convinced them that it was safe to eat and they really enjoyed it.”

Looking for a way to share the food surplus with her local community, Sahar started her own Facebook group. 

Four years since my first dive, I haven’t bought a single grocery item

Sahar Khalili

“In a year, our members grew to 1000,” she says.

“Incredibly, in 2022, we’d saved 152 kilos of food from landfill. Using an online waste calculator, we learned it was the equivalent to 26 days of electricity consumption for one household.”

Now, Sahar has set herself a new challenge to see how long she can last before stepping back inside a supermarket.

If there is something particular she needs she will swap items with other members of the Facebook group.

She adds: “And despite reservations, Mum has come around to trying bin food.

“It’s my dream that one day no business will throw edible food into a bin, and we can end food waste.”