A BID to have a hard waste rubbish pick-up return to Albury has failed, with a former mayor saying it would be an "absolute retrograde step".
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Councillor Darren Cameron put a motion to last night's council meeting seeking its reinstatement after having sought its return since 2012.
But it was voted down 6-2 with mayor Kevin Mack and previous mayors Henk van de Ven and Alice Glachan condemning it.
Cr van de Ven accused Cr Cameron of grandstanding.
Cr Glachan said ratepayers would be paying more for garbage services "had we not done away with the hard waste collection and had we not brought in the three-bin system".
The council's service leader assets sustainability and environment Steven Millett told the meeting it would cost $2 million to reintroduce hard waste gathering.
"(It's) changed the culture of 'we can put something out on our nature strip and the problem goes away'," he said.
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"We've actually worked with the community to change that to 'can we reuse, can we recycle, do we really need this stuff to start with?'."
Mr Millett said ending hard waste pick-ups after 2009 had helped extend the life of Albury's landfill by 20 to 30 years.
Cr Mack said having goods on verges for collection was unsightly, saw items become unusable because of weather and attracted dogs and possums.
Cr Cameron said it was a "myth" to say there was a well-functioning system to provide a service for those unable to transport goods to the waste hub.
He finished his contribution to the debate with a note of warning.
"Those of you who don't want to support this motion, it is your perfect right not to, but those of you who are standing for council again can certainly expect to have to explain yourself to the people of Albury," he said.
