Pie price hike looms for Cairns as waste fees eat into profits

Far North pie lovers may be forced to fork over more for their pastry treats with skyrocketing waste fees to be baked into the cost of pasties, quiches, sausage rolls and more, a small business owner has warned.

Bushman's Pies owner, Bill Richardson, based in Bungalow, wants to know why his skip bin fees are about three times' more expensive than they were earlier this year. Picture: Samuel Davis

Far North pie lovers may be forced to fork over more for their pastry treats with skyrocketing waste fees to be baked into the cost of pasties, quiches, sausage rolls and more, a small business owner has warned.

Bushman’s Pies owner Bill Richardson said he was shocked in September to find the monthly cost to have his skip bin removed by a commercial operator had tripled to $1429.72.

Famed pie man Bill Richardson, who still serves hot meals on the side of the Captain Cook Highway, fears he will have to increase costs as a result of an increase to waste disposal fees. Picture: Brian Cassey

A subsequent bill cost almost $1700, meaning the famed Bungalow business, which started out of a van on the Captain Cook Hwy, will be forced to find around $12,000 more to maintain its operations, Mr Richardson said.

“Our average fee is probably about $520 and we’ve been paying that for years,” the small businessman said. “Each pickup is normally around about a tonne, once a week.

“All of us that have skip bins picked up seem to have copped it. I’m not sure where it’s come from.”

Mr Richardson says passing on the cost to the consumer for his pies could come at a price. Picture: Brian Cassey

Mr Richardson said he contacted his supplier, J.J. Richards and Sons but the company failed to provide him with an explanation for the sudden price spike.

When contacted by the Cairns Post, the company declined to comment.

The waste disposal levy for general waste is currently $97 per tonne for the 2025-26 financial year, a $3 increase from last year, a Department of Environment Tourism Science and Innovation spokesman said.

“Prices set by commercial waste operators are a matter for them,” the spokesman said.

“According to legislation introduced in 2019, a levy is charged for each tonne of waste that is sent to landfill.”

Bushman’s Pies in Bungalow also offers sandwiches, wraps and cakes to customers. Picture: Tom Lee

The fee increase was already crippling some small businesses in Cairns, Mr Richardson said.

“I had a fishmonger ring me up and tell me that he was paying on average $1,100 a month for his waste removal,” he said.

“His latest bill was over $3,500. Where’s small business supposed to find two or three thousand dollars a month?

“As a business, you understand that prices are going to go up. They’re going to go up 10-20 per cent maybe. But 200% or more in one big, huge crash?

“Some of us cannot change the weight of what we put into that bin.”

The cost-of-living crisis meant Mr Richardson feared increasing the cost of his product.

“The only way I can do it is put up my product that I’m selling to the public. But if I turn around and say to Joe Blow, ‘thank you very much for $8 from my pie at the present moment, but I’m going to have to charge you 20 cents to cover for waste removal’ what happens then?

“Not all of us can put our prices up because we’re affected by what’s in the public pocket.”

Cairns Regional Council is not involved in commercial and industrial waste collection but a spokeswoman said it is supporting businesses affected by fee increases by “advocating to the state government on the regional impacts of the landfill levy.”

Originally published as Pie price hike looms for Cairns as waste fees eat into profits