Temura 34: Must Chametz be Destroyed by Burning?

Massechet Temura ends with today's daf.  While a number of our Mishna's statements are discussed, the Gemara spends much of its time on the burning of chametz on Pesach.  Can it be removed in other ways?

If chametz is something that is burned, then the author of the Mishna is siding with Rabbi Yehuda (who ruled that chametz can only be destroyed by burning).  In Massechet Pesachim (21) the sages teach that we are permitted to destroy chametz by crumbling it up and throwing it into the wind or the sea.

Rabbi Chayyim Soloveitchik wrote in Chidushei Rabbi Chayyim HaLevi (Hilchot Chametz u'Matza) that these arguments are dependent on the definition of the term bi'ur, destruction.  Is this actually a  positive mitzvah, or is simply directing us to clear our property of chametz?  

Rabbi Yehuda argues that destroying chametz involves burning because burning is the only way to completely erase an object.  The sages argue that the removal of chametz does not require burning; the positive mitzvah is to remove chametz from our property.

We learn that the halacha follows the opinion of the sages, even though Rabbi Yehuda's opinion is not disputed.  Chametz can be destroyed by any means, but many people follow the tradition of burning it (Rema, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 445:1).