The new Path Head landfill site in Gateshead, which is owned and operated by SITA UK, will this week take its first load of waste.
The site, which is a former quarry, is expected to be active for around ten years, and is located immediately to the south of the A695 Ryton bypass. Traffic will access the site directly from a roundabout off the A695 to the east of Ryton.
Around 450,000 tonnes of non-hazardous household, industrial and commercial waste will be deposited in the Path Head landfill each year. This will come mainly from within Tyneside and the Tyne Valley. The landfill void at the site covers just over 15 hectares of the 28-hectare site.
John Grainger, General Manager for SITA UK in the North East, said: "Path Head will be an important resource for over the next ten years. Along with our partners in the region we are fully committed to reducing, reusing and recycling as much waste as possible, but landfills like the one we are opening at Path Head will remain an important part of the waste management mix in our region for many years to come".