The landfill opened in 1940 as an open-burning dump and then as an incinerator from 1953 to 1977. Following a lawsuit from the town of East Hartford over the smoke, the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority took over operations in 1982 and began operating a trash-to-energy plant. The ash from the plant was deposited in the landfill, which received its final delivery on Dec. 31, 2008. The four-phase capping project began in 2008 and finished last year, including installing 3,993 solar panels that can generate electricity to power 1,000 homes.