Flood waste and silt collections

To advise an address for silt collection phone 0800 108 838 and press 2 for cyclone-related waste collections. You will be asked a few questions to enable our collection teams to select the right collection and disposal options.

Important: please do not pile silt on the verge of your property until you have been advised of your collection details.

The team responding to the 0800 108 838 phone line will ask you to describe your silt. This is to help the team select the correct right disposal site for your type of silt. Please choose from the following options: 

• Clean silt – Silt from the likes of roads and streets, and urban/rural household gardens that do not have a septic tank; does not contain solid items like flood-damaged household furniture. 
• Mixed silt – Silt mixed with small amounts of litter; waste from flood-damaged household goods (such as plastic, small toys and food waste), and flood-dispersed food like apples. 
• Contaminated silt – Silt that may have had septic tank, spilt paint, diesel, chemicals etc mixed through. 
• Woody silt – Silt mixed with quantities of timber and other storm-related debris like fence posts, trees etc. 

Yes, we may not be able to guarantee the time, but we will aim to provide you the day the contractor will be collecting your silt.

Important: please do not pile silt on the verge of your property until you have been advised of your collection details.

We are asking residents to provide information on the general make-up of the silt to allow our team to select the right site for disposal. We don’t expect residents to sift through their silt, but rather to assist our teams to be informed and prepared to deal with the collection. 

Where possible, please put your silt on the verge in front of your property without putting it in the gutter/drain where it will block stormwater drains. This may mean putting it in your front garden or another accessible location. 

Important: please do not pile silt on the verge of your property until you have been advised of your collection details.

On urban sections you may choose to do this yourself or use a contractor. (The collection of larger quantities of silt from rural properties is being managed by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). 

No, we only ask you provide our teams with information on the make-up of the silt to enable our collection team to select the right disposal site. Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has carried out random testing across the region, to develop an understanding of the makeup of the vast bulk of the silt.

Generally no; the collection team will pick the silt up and determine where it should go for disposal. Decisions on whether silt needs to be referred for investigation (given the area and/or use of the former site) will be made by the collection teams. If that is the case, the results will determine the site to which it is delivered. 

We have identified a number of safe storage sites for silt. While these are generally on Council-owned land, there are some sites on private land. All of the sites are accessible only by approved contractors. 

Environmental management plans are being prepared for the sites, and Council will be working on consenting these sites for the material that is managed on them. This will mean that they are regularly monitored. Council will support the contractors operating these sites to ensure appropriate controls are in place to ensure the safety of those working on the sites. 

If your swimming pool has been inundated with silt, we recommend you pump any remaining water onto the ground (generally onto grass where the water can soak in) and then move the silt onto your verge and arrange collection. You can also extract and dispose of pool water at your own expense through a local waste contractor, however please bear in mind our wastewater treatment plant can only accept liquid content, not sludge or silt. Please research the emptying of your swimming pool to ensure you do not cause damage to your pool structure or pump/mechanical system. 

Following a consenting process, at some sites the silt will remain permanently, while others are temporary holding sites and the silt will be removed once alternative sites or uses are identified. Clean silt will typically be used as topsoil or fill, while some silt may be used in construction projects.