Guides · 20 September 2026 · Planted
Compare jute matting, jute mesh and coir logs by site type, plus install-only versus supplied and installed, for NSW civil and infrastructure projects.
Choosing erosion control solutions for a civil site is a balance between the terrain, the exposure, the flow conditions and the timeline you are working to. Get it right and the surface holds through the wet season while your revegetation establishes. Get it wrong and you are back on site repairing rills, chasing sediment and explaining variations to the project team.
This guide walks through the common products used on NSW civil and infrastructure sites, how to match them to site conditions, and how to decide between install-only and supplied and installed delivery.
Match the product to the site
Erosion control is not one product. The right choice depends on slope, soil, water flow and how long the surface needs protection before planting takes over.
Jute matting
Jute matting is a woven natural fibre blanket laid across a prepared surface. It suits batters, basin faces and disturbed slopes where you need broad surface cover to reduce raindrop impact and slow overland flow. The matting holds soil and moisture while seed or tubestock establishes, then breaks down naturally as the vegetation takes over.
Use jute matting where you have a graded slope that needs full-coverage protection and where you are planting into the treated area. It is a strong default for detention basin faces and road and rail batters.
Jute mesh
Jute mesh is a more open weave than a full blanket. It gives you soil stabilisation and a keying surface for planting while allowing tubestock to be planted through the openings more easily. On sites where revegetation planting is the priority and the erosion risk is moderate, mesh can be the more practical option because it works with the planting program rather than around it.
The distinction between matting and mesh often comes down to flow velocity and slope angle. Steeper, more exposed faces generally call for the denser cover of matting. Where planting density is high and the surface is more stable, mesh can do the job.
Coir logs
Coir logs are compressed coconut fibre rolls staked along contours, drainage lines and basin inlets. They are a linear control rather than a surface blanket. Use them to break up slope length, trap sediment, protect creek lines and manage concentrated flow paths.
Coir logs work well alongside matting rather than instead of it. A common approach is jute across the batter face with coir logs on the contour to intercept flow and reduce the energy reaching the surface below.
Read the flow, not just the slope
Slope angle gets the attention, but flow concentration is what causes most failures. A gentle slope with a concentrated flow path will scour where a steeper, evenly draining face holds. Before choosing a product, look at where water gathers, where it discharges and how long the surface stays wet. Inlets, outlets, batter toes and contour breaks are where you spend your coir logs and your attention.
Always install to the manufacturer specification and to the erosion and sediment control requirements for the site. Pinning rates, overlaps, anchor trenches and staking depth are not optional details. They are the difference between a system that performs and one that lifts in the first heavy rain.
Install-only or supplied and installed
How you procure the work matters as much as the product choice.
Install-only suits projects where the erosion-control product is already specified and supplied, often direct from the manufacturer. You bring the crew, the method and the compliance with spec. Planted is the preferred installer for leading erosion-control suppliers, so this is well-trodden ground for us.
Supplied and installed suits projects where you want a single point of responsibility for both the materials and the workmanship. One crew handles surface preparation, product installation and the revegetation planting that follows, which keeps the stages aligned and reduces handover gaps on staged sites.
The practical advantage of one crew across every stage is continuity. The same team that prepared the surface installs the matting and plants through it, so the erosion control and the revegetation are treated as one system rather than separate scopes.
A simple way to decide
Start with the site conditions and the project specification. Identify your surface protection need, your linear flow controls and your planting method. Then decide whether you are supplying the product or having it supplied and installed as one package. Confirm the install detail against the manufacturer spec, and program the planting so the vegetation is establishing while the natural fibres are still doing their job.
Talk it through with Planted
Every civil site is different, and the right combination of matting, mesh and coir logs depends on your terrain, your program and your specification. If you want a practical view on the best erosion control solution for your project, call Planted on 1800 WE PLANT (1800 937 526) or email projects@planted.com.au.
