The EXTREME length one Aussie council has gone to in order to save fuel

Published: 02:17, 23 April 2026 | Updated: 02:17, 23 April 2026 A regional council will temporarily scrap one of its bin collections in a bid to save fuel for essential services amid ongoing supply pressures.  Upper Lachlan Shire Council will halt its kerbside green waste collection from Monday, becoming one of the first in New South Wales to do so. Four councillors were in favour of the move, but four were against it at Upper Lachlan Shire Council's ordinary meeting last week, so mayor Mr Culhane had the final say.  'This decision was not taken lightly, but it is necessary to protect fuel reserves and ensure essential services to the community continue without disruption,' he said.   'It's easy to be popular and just leave services as they are, but we just think we need to make some hard decisions. 'If this crisis gets any worse, we'll still have diesel to help us run our absolutely essential waste collection and grading services.'  Mr Culhane said one of his biggest worries was running out of fuel, which would cause issues with council's bin collection service.   'What would really concern me is if we did miss out on a fortnightly [fuel] delivery and, for instance, our red bin service around town might have to be suspended if we didn't have diesel,' he said. A regional council will temporarily scrap one of its bin collection in a bid to save fuel for essential services amid ongoing supply pressures 'That would be a really big problem.' Councillors will review the decision periodically and the green waste collection will resume in towns like Crookwell, Laggan and Taralga when 'the current challenges associated with fuel supply are alleviated'.  Residents will be able to dispose of their domestic green waste at all council transfer stations, including grass clippings, prunings and leaves free of charge, while the pause remains in place.  However, not everyone is happy with the decision, with Crookwell resident Anne Cummins slamming council for the move.  'We actually pay for our green waste, and there's been no getting a refund or anything,' she told the ABC.  'How many people in our town are then going to use fuel to get to the tip?  'To me, you're just putting that cost back on the ratepayer.'  Crookwell Nursery owner, Courtney Haywood Whipp, also shared a similar sentiment, saying her business made full use of the green bin collection when it was available.   Crookwell is one of the towns where kerbside green waste collection will be paused 'I may need to look at taking my green waste home and potentially burning it off or creating compost there, which would mean double handling,' she said. 'It adds to the length of our day and is just another job to find time for.' She said she was optimistic the fuel supply situation would improve quickly, so the collection could resume as normal. 'Hopefully it's a short-lived problem, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,' she said. 'In the meantime, we might have to build compost bins.'  Both women also felt for the older gardening community, saying it would be difficult for them to reach the tip.    Daily Mail has reached out to Upper Lachlan Shire Council for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.