There will be no return to the old green waste chipping service, after a report to council showed that it would cost at least $7 extra per household.
The kerbside chipping service, where council fed green material into a chipper and left it on the nature strip, was abandoned in 2020 in favour of a new system where green waste is collected and taken away for recycling.
But earlier this year, concerns were raised that people wanted the old system back and were finding it difficult bundling branches for collection.
Council made a video to help with the bundling issues and then in April councillors voted to receive a report on the possible reintroduction of chipping to run alongside the new collection service.
The report, tabled at the August meeting, noted that council already offered extensive options to get rid of green waste, including a fortnightly green bin, the booked waste service (two per household annually), two tips which can take such waste, subsidised compost bins and free composting workshops run by council.
The report said the services were "sufficient to meet the needs of the vast majority of Blue Mountains households".
It also noted that, in its last year of operation, the chipping service was used by fewer than 2,000 households (6 per cent)
It examined the possibility of reintroducing chipping, either using in-house staff and buying a truck and chipper (as the existing ones were sold after the service stopped), or contracting the service out.
Both would mean increased costs, the report found. The in-house model would add $7.50 to the domestic waste management charge for each household; the third party contractor would add about $7/household.
It concluded that reintroducing the chipping service "would have negative safety outcomes for staff, duplicate existing service, increase inefficiency and increase domestic waste fees to all residents while only benefitting a small portion of the community".
It recommendation - not to proceed with the reintroduction - was passed unanimously by council.
But Blue Mountains mayor, Mark Greenhill, told the Gazette: "I am determined to see the service come back but noted the staff report said that its reintroduction from internal funds would mean an increase in rates for residents.
"I don't want that.
"It was a motion of mine that saw green bins introduced and we did that with a state government grant."
At last night's council meeting (September 28), Cr Greenhill introduced an urgency motion seeking a briefing on a free green waste weekend after lockdown and early in the bushfire period for residents who have been unable to remove green waste during lockdown in order to prepare their homes for the fire season.
He also asked that council urgently seeks a government grant to reintroduce the green waste chipping service without cost to residents.
The minute was passed.