Cassowary Coast Regional Council has advised that it has increased disposal fees for banana bags, poly pipe and agricultural plastics, effective as of July 1.

The Council said they had previously charged for these products by weight, but they are light, problematic to compact, consolidate within landfill and use up considerable expensive airspace. Disposal fees have increased to $220 per m3.

In addition, and also as of July 1, the Queensland Government requires that Landfill Operators charge a levy on all waste going to landfill. That levy is $75.00 per tonne. Council as a Landfill Operator are required to provide payment to the state government for every tonne of material that is landfilled. This fee is in addition to the disposal costs.

In 2019/20, Council has estimated that Cassowary Coast banana growers will pay about $506,000 to send their bunch bags to landfill.