David Cameron promised to crack down on council tax hikes as he launched the Tories' local elections campaign.
He also insisted people should "vote blue and go green".
Tory councils had been "leading the way in the fight against climate change", with innovative projects such as installing high-efficiency fluorescent lighting in Bournemouth and making school buildings more environmentally friendly, he said.
Mr Cameron insisted Conservative candidates would be greener and tougher on anti-social behaviour without "slapping people in the face" with huge bills.
Speaking in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire - where the party controls Kirklees Council - Mr Cameron said: "As people see the cost of their groceries going up, they want a council that keeps costs down.
"There is nothing more depressing than paying a whacking great cheque to the council and then watching it being squandered on pointless schemes and vanity projects driven by councillors on an ego trip.
"Wasting public money is a slap in the face to people who live on tight budgets because council tax can swallow a significant part of their disposable income."
The Tories are aiming to turn a run of favourable polls into concrete progress at the ballot box on May 1, as well as making breakthroughs in parts of the North where they have traditionally been weak.
But Mr Cameron refused to be drawn on whether winning fewer than 100 extra seats would be a poor performance, stressing that the party was starting from a very high base.
"I want us to gain seats and I want us to gain councils, and I am hopeful that we can do that," he said. "But I don't make predictions."
