2 and A successful trial on Gisborne’s Midway Beach has found a regular burning programme could reduce the cost of removing wood debris by about half.
Gisborne District Council started a burn-off trial this month to remove the build-up of large piles of woody debris on the beachfront.
A council spokesperson said 1000 cubic metres of debris was burned over about eight hours during the trial.
On-site burning cost $12 to $16 per cubic metre, significantly less than $35 to $45 per cubic metre for off-site burning.
This included additional operational inputs required to undertake the burn.
“During the trial, the cost of the beach burn was about one-third of the cost of removing the same volume of material from the beach,” the spokesperson said. “This was partly because the wood had already been stockpiled on the beach and could be transported directly to the burn pit.”
Weather conditions could impact the collection and handling of the material in future, so this approach may not always be applicable.
Further burn-offs will require more planning, consent and operational arrangements, the spokesperson said.
The council was reviewing trial results and would seek consents before considering a regular programme of managed beach burns.
“Council expects a regular managed beach-burning programme could ultimately deliver savings of around 50%”.
An estimated 1.4 million tonnes of debris was deposited across Tairāwhiti’s hill country and catchments after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Between May 2023 and February 2026, around 585,200cu m of debris were removed from waterway catchments and beaches across the region.
In 2025, around 110,790cu m of debris were extracted at a cost of $19.89m.
For the 2024 calendar year, 330,300 cu m were removed at a cost of just over $31.4 million.
As of last year, all costs to remove woody debris were externally funded, with none coming from the council’s operating budget.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.