The well-worn phrase summed up her contribution to the debate on whether the council’s clean-up week should continue.

She was one of several councillors at a recent meeting to roundly defeat a recommendation to drop the annual collection.

The service, in which residents place heavy items on the kerbside for council pick-up, has been running for several years.

But staff in a report claimed the initiative conflicted with the council’s aim to boost recycling and reuse in the community.

“The waste industry is becoming a true user pays one similar to other commodities such as power, gas and water,” waste and recycling manager Teena Riley stated in a report.

“This will ultimately ensure over time (through pricing and education) that it is the responsibility of the resident to better manage their waste use and disposal and individual impacts they have on the environment.”

Moreover, the pick-up posed significant work health and safety risks and people tended to leave “unacceptable items” for collection, staff argued.

Ms Riley suggested a future service based on vouchers or a user pays book-in system, but these would depend on the outcome of a waste services strategic business plan, currently underway.

The idea didn’t sit well with Cr Robin Saville.

“This is the second time this has come to Council,” he said.

“The director of utilities has adopted the motto that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

He argued clean-up week was a valuable service, especially for those who couldn’t transport items to the tip.

Cr Saville took issue with Cr Andrew Banfield who said Council wasn’t proposing to change or delete the collection, just look at other options and work “more efficiently and within its resources.” 

He told the meeting that not many households used the service and even fewer ‘dumped’ their rubbish on the kerbside. Last year Council only had to remove one load that was left out, due to a tenant’s departure.

“I think we should retain this very helpful clean-up week,” Cr Saville said.

He and Cr O’Neill pointed out that residents were doing their own recycling by going around and picking up items from piles that others had put out.

Cr Alf Walker too pushed its continuation.

“People do tend to use it and I think its worthwhile continuing,” he said.

But Cr Banfield stressed that most of the material went to landfill and the facility only had a limited lifespan.

Though billed as free, the service is in fact funded through residents’ domestic waste fees.

Ms Riley reported that nearby councils, including Upper Lachlan, Palerang, Yass Valley and Wingecarribee did not provide free kerbside bulky waste collection pick-ups. The latter two supply a voucher and book-in service respectively.

Put to the vote, councillors endorsed Cr Saville’s motion to simply note the report, rather than abandon the annual clean-up.