General News
24 November, 2025
Price hikes just garbage
A BAKERY owner is stunned that commercial rubbish collection fees have tripled with the possibility that the cost of his pies may have to go up to compensate.
William Richardson of Bushman Pies in Bungalow said his monthly rubbish invoices jumped from about $500 to $1690.80 for October, an increase of approximately $1190 in a single month. He noted the invoices went unnoticed in his email spam folder.
“I wasn’t aware of it … but once I discovered them a couple of days ago and I printed them out, I noticed that our invoices had increased,” he said.
Mr Richardson said other businesses in Cairns had experienced similar spikes.
Waste fees triple
“I’ve spoken to several people, including a seafood person who has told me that their invoice went from $1100 a month to over $3000,” he said.
Cairns Local News also contacted another Cairns bakery owner, who confirmed experiencing a similar spike in fees, but requested anonymity.
He noted that business owners who occupied their own premises typically faced higher costs as they cannot share bin fees with other tenants.
He added that waste-heavy businesses, such as panel beaters handling large amounts of scrap metal, are likely feeling the increases most sharply.
Dump fees blamed
According to Mr Richardson, waste collection company JJ Richards stated that the rise was due to council dump fees increasing to $390 per tonne and the introduction of a new bin weight-based charging system.
Cairns Regional Council says JJ Richards manages the pricing structure.
“Either JJ Richards is pulling wool over our eyes or the council is pulling wool over someone’s eyes. Businesses can’t afford this,” Mr Richardson said.
He said his bakery had been using JJ Richards for 14 years across multiple locations, including the current Scott Street site for nine years.
“JJs is a trusted company, and now all of a sudden, we’re asking questions about what has changed?” he said.
Council ‘not involved’
A council spokeswoman said council “is not involved in commercial and industrial waste collection – this is a competitive business stream, where provider choice is at the discretion of businesses/individuals”.
“Council does review disposal rates for commercial mixed waste, concrete and green waste annually (see our resource recovery fees and charges schedule). There was no significant change in fees for the 2025/2026 period.
“Council provides guidance to businesses on waste and recycling services (bin sizes, collection frequency, invoicing options) through its ‘waste and recycling in business’ webpages.
There is no publicly available billing protocol specifically for commercial waste collection providers, but all providers must operate in compliance with council’s regulations.
“Council also accepts commercial recycling at our material recovery facility and encourages people to enquire with licensed commercial waste operators to explore recycling options that can help reduce the volume of business waste sent to landfill.
“Council is supporting businesses affected by fee increases by advocating to the state government on the regional impacts of the landfill levy, providing guidance and tools to help reduce waste to landfill, offering free advice and resources on waste reduction and recycling, and maintaining a fee structure that rewards effective waste separation practices.”
Prices set by operators
A Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation spokeswoman said that prices set by commercial waste operators were a matter for the operators themselves.
She said that, under legislation introduced in 2019, a levy is charged for each tonne of waste sent to landfill. The general waste disposal levy was $94 per tonne for 2024–25 and has increased to $97 per tonne for the 2025–26 financial year, in line with indexation.
Cairns Local News contacted the chamber of commerce and JJ Richards for comment on the fee increases but did not receive a response.
Mr Richardson said he had contacted state MP Matt Healy’s office and hoped local councillors would investigate the matter.
Pies might go up too
He also expressed concern that small businesses would be forced to increase prices or risk unsafe waste disposal practices if fees continue to rise.
“I do feel something has to be said about the Liberal government dropping the subsidies that Labor had in place, forcing companies and councils to pass these costs forward, eventually ending up on business owners’ invoices,” Mr Richardson said.
