The decision to shelve plans to sell the Ballymount waste recycling facility has been hailed as a "victory for common sense".
The plant is currently jointly owned by the four Dublin local authorities and operated by a private company.
Dublin City councillors voted this evening to shelve the plan until a study looking at bringing the capital’s refuse and waste services back into public control is completed.
Councillor Daithi Doolan praised the decision as a "victory for common sense, the environment and the householder".
He said: "To sell off the site would seriously undermine our attempts to take the bin service back under council control.
"We aim to develop a 21st century waste management service for a 21st century Dublin.
"We want a bin service that is better for the environment and saves the householder money. This plant will play a key part in that strategy.
"To simply sell it off would be short sighted and counterproductive for the public.
"Tonight's decision shows we are on the right track to taking the domestic bin service back under city council control."
Forsa, the union which represents staff in all four Dublin local authorities also welcomed the decision.
Union official Peter Nolan said: "This decision is in line with the approach taken by elected councillors in recent months, which favours a genuine exploration of bringing the bin service back into public control.
"The experiment in unregulated private waste collection has led to a chaotic market, increased costs and a huge growth in illegal dumping.
He continued: "This proposal by council officials would have seriously undermined the councillors’ earlier decision to explore the prospect of taking refuse collection and other environmental services back into direct public control."
Last November, a council working group agreed to conduct research into new waste management arrangements on foot of an earlier cross-party motion calling for household services to be returned to local authority control.
Funding of €70,000 was subsequently earmarked for the project.
