Hundreds of thousands of pounds will be spent on buying new bin wagons in Salford as the council's current fleet comes to the end of a seven-year cycle.
This week, the budget to replace refuse vehicles was boosted by £1.1m which allows the council to purchase seven new waste collection wagons this year.
The local authority has looked into buying electric and hybrid vehicles to replace its current fleet – but it has concluded that they are too expensive.
This comes around a year after Salford City Council declared a climate emergency and committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2038.
David Seager, assistant director of operational and commercial services, told councillors at a briefing the idea is still "very much" on the table for the future.
He said: "We were trying to see whether there was a way of taking us down an electric vehicle route to bring us bang in line with where we’re trying to go with climate change and carbon reduction.
"Unfortunately at this current time there are a number of issues. One is with reliability. There’s only one area that has started to develop fully electric fleets.
"They are three times more expensive per vehicle than the current kind we use. Even the hybrid versions are twice as expensive so they are uneconomical at this point to do what we’re trying to do.
"The other aspect around the electric vehicles is that you need an infrastructure in place in the city that can cope with the number of vehicles we have.
"To change the Turnpike Depot alone to accommodate this will be close on half a million pounds.
"So the cost of the vehicles is not only three times more expensive than the normal, but you’ve got the infrastructure as well. So unfortunately at this time, electric vehicles and hybrids are not the answer for us."
The new bin wagons will be European 6 standard which means they will be in line with European emission regulations and will be compliant with the upcoming regulations on Clean Air in Greater Manchester expected by 2022.
Of the £1.1m vired to the five-year fleet renewal programme on Thursday, £800,000 came from the budget to bring Buile Hill Mansion back into use.
Seagar said the refurbishment of Buile Hill Mansion is still an "absolute priority" for the Salford City Mayor, but funding has been deferred for now.
