Coir Logs

Soil erosion has a devastating effect on natural landscapes, wildlife and the croplands we all depend on for sustenance. It rips out vegetation, elevates pollution and sedimentation levels in rivers, hastens nutrient degradation, increases soil salinity and threatens plant growth and aquatic life. A recent Land Use Policy paper found that soil erosion from water costs the world about $8 billion every year in land productivity losses — including lost food production — that decrease countries’ gross domestic products (GDPs).

Half of the topsoil on Earth has eroded in the past 150 years. Fortunately, the right products minimize soil erosion from construction sites and make projects much more environmentally conscious and sustainable.

What Are Coir Logs and Coir Wattles?

Coir logs, also known as coir wattles, are sediment control products made from all-natural, organic coconut. The word “coir” refers to fibers from the outer layer of the coconut fruit.

The Erosion Control Technology Council classifies coconut coir logs as sediment retention fiber rolls (SRFRs). These rolls consist of a dense filler material enclosed in a flexible container like coir twine. They are useful in various sediment and flow control applications for maintaining soil integrity.

Coir Log Applications

Coir logs allow for the restoration of eroded ponds, lakeshores, stream banks and coastal areas. Companies can use them to shore up these areas, halt erosion, prevent habitat destruction and return the environment to its original condition. Natural coir logs prevent soil from moving until natural vegetation can reestablish itself, and they may remain in place alongside a new root system for extra protection.

Coir wattles are particularly useful in applications like the following:

• Creation of check dams in swales and waterways
• Perimeter control
• Inlet protection
• Slope interception
• Sediment trapping
• Water filtration
• Energy dissipation of low-energy waves

Coir Log Benefits

Coir logs offer superior benefits in sediment retention, soil stabilization and vegetative establishment. Below are some of those unique benefits:

• Eco-friendliness: Natural coir wattles are incredibly environmentally friendly. They contain no synthetic netting or chemical additives, so they are easy on the environment. They will not leach toxic substances into the soil or water, and they will not leave behind harmful materials if they degrade. Coir wattles also provide an ideal setting for plant reestablishment in the natural environment.
• Rot and mildew resistance: Coir logs are highly resistant to rot and mildew. This property makes them well suited for aquatic environments. Companies often use coir wattles to prevent erosion in wetland areas, shore up eroded stream banks and protect water structure boundaries, levees and stormwater systems.
• Cost: Coir log costs are generally relatively low. Businesses looking for an economical solution can turn to coir logs for reliable solutions that fit their budgets.
• Reliability: Coir wattles hold up well even under some of the most demanding conditions. These products can absorb up to four times their weight in water without degrading. Under most conditions, they have a functional longevity of up to three years.
• Ease of transport: Unlike concrete or riprap alternatives, coir logs are easy to move from place to place. Companies can use them to ensure soil integrity while saving employees time and promoting on-site efficiency.

Coir Logs and LEED

Many new construction projects strive to attain a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating. The U.S. Green Building Council^® (USGBC^®) developed the LEED Green Building System^TM to promote sustainable design and development.

How can using natural coir logs help your project abide by LEED engineering principles and attain a coveted LEED rating? The LEED system prioritizes sustainability accomplishments in areas like the following:

• Materials and resources
• Regional priority
• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency

Using coir logs from East Coast Erosion allows companies to maintain sustainable sites by using biodegradable, eco-friendly materials and resources. The coir logs offer erosion protection, encourage vegetation establishment and keep the surrounding environment free from toxic materials.

East Coast Erosion’s Wattles

At East Coast Erosion, the coconut fiber coir logs we supply have the highest quality and consistency of construction, so you can feel confident in specifying them for a particular project, delivering them to a customer or deploying them on your own project sites. Our coir wattles also pair well with our biodegradable erosion blankets as part of a multi-pronged, comprehensive, environmentally conscious erosion control strategy.

Coir Log Specifications

We have coconut coir logs for sale in a range of sizes, so you can choose the logs that best meet your project’s soil stabilization or sediment retention needs. They come in several standard diameters:

• 6-inch
• 12-inch
• 16-inch
• 20-inch

They are available in standard lengths of 12 or 20 feet. We can also supply custom lengths upon request.

East Coast Erosion’s coir logs also come in two different densities. Our standard coir logs provide 7 pounds per foot, and our premium coir logs offer 9 pounds per foot. Engineers, distributors and construction personnel can choose the densities they’d like to keep in stock for different applications.

Coir Log Testing

One of the great benefits of using coir wattles on construction and restoration sites is the hydraulic performance testing these products have undergone. The hydrology laboratory at Iowa State University, for instance, has performed rigorous testing on different types of sediment control wattles to determine how effectively they perform.

For this evaluation, the lab set up a test flume: a steel-and-glass channel filled with water and capable of adjusting in slope between 0% and 5%. They then installed sediment control logs in a particular section of the basin and monitored their effectiveness in channelized flow tests.

These channelized flow tests consisted of different trials that sent clean water through the channel at various flow rates and slopes across different types of logs. Researchers then measured water depths at specific points both upstream and downstream of the wattles to determine which wattles performed best at reducing supercritical flows — that is, the flow of water downstream from the wattle sites.

In these tests, coconut coir logs demonstrated superior performance to that of similar logs made from materials like excelsior and wheat straw. They were on par with the performance of wood chips and synthetic fibers. The height of their supercritical flows differed by only about 16% from the height measured with an immovable weir control.