Queenslanders Jeni and Ray Bonell have sixteen children so they know a trick or two to try and keep grocery shopping costs down.
This month Jeni shared how she managed to get a $580 Woolworths shop for free.
“How did I get free groceries? Let me tell you,” she said on her YouTube account, which has almost 40,000 subscribers.
“I saved up all of our 10 cent bottles and I picked up other people’s 10 cent bottles, saved them all up, took them to the recyclers, got our redeemable vouchers, took them to the grocery store and I redeemed them for cash and then that paid for my groceries.”
Jeni traded 5809 recyclable bottles for $580.90 through Queensland’s Containers for Change scheme. The shop filled two trolleys and came to $579.55.
“Free groceries and a hand full of change at the end of the day, so I am really super pleased with that,” Jeni said. “Had a lot of fun doing that today. It was awesome.”
The scheme, aiming to reduce litter and increase the state’s recycling rate, started in 2018.
Queenslanders can return eligible containers via a container refund point and either get cash, a bank transfer, retail vouchers or donate the funds, depending on which site they go to.
There are similar schemes in other states.
NSW’s scheme is called Return and Earn and was rolled out the year before Queensland in 2017. Since then, more than 8.5 billion drink containers have been returned.
Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme starts 2023.
The Bonell family are believed to be one of Australia’s largest with 16 children between 32 and eight years old. They are all biological offspring and include no multiple births.
Jeni’s $580 shop she picked up for free included cereal, biscuits, bread, pasta, ham, chicken, pork roasts, cheese, pre-made pasta salad, dips, bananas, tomatoes, rice, two-minute noodles, various sauces and spreads, and many cans of food like evaporated milk, fruit, vegetables and tuna.
She also picked up toilet paper, shampoo and conditioner, laundry powder and dish washing liquid.