The new facility, which was announced in January 2024, is being developed to support the rollout of separate household food waste collections across Northumberland and the wider North East.
Once complete, it will have the capacity to process up to 50,000 tonnes of food waste each year.
Principal contractor O’Brien Moran and Co. is now on site, with construction expected to take around 18 months.
The build will be followed by a period of testing and commissioning before the facility enters full operation.
The plant expected to be operational by autumn 2027.
John Scanlon, Executive Vice President UK at Suez, commented: “We are thrilled to have broken ground on this site, increasing food waste recycling capacity in the region alongside a source of reliable, renewable energy generation for local economies.
“Doing so in a sustainable way is the only way and I’m proud of the fact that we’re not only building with circularity in mind, but that we deconstructed the previous facility in this way too by repurposing buildings and re-using the materials.”
More than 10,500 tonnes of concrete recovered from the demolition of the previous facilities has been reused within the site’s formation layers, while around 60% of the structural steel needed for the main building will be reclaimed.
Suez added that the AD facility will initially be powered by the site’s existing landfill gas power generation scheme while also producing renewable biogas to improve local energy security.
David O’Brien, Managing Director of O’Brien Moran and Co., added: “OBM were delighted to be chosen by SUEZ as principal and civils contractor for this ambitious project.
“Working in close partnership with the SUEZ team and Stantec’s EPCM specialists, we are confident this collaboration will deliver a strong and successful outcome.”
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