HAMPDEN (AP) – The Pine Tree Landfill, a controversial landmark visible from Interstate 95, is slated to close by the end of 2009.

The state Department of Environmental Protection on Friday approved closure plans for the 44-acre site that has accepted some 6 million cubic yards of trash since it opened in 1975.

As of June 1, the Casella Waste Systems Inc. landfill will no longer be permitted to accept odor-causing waste, such as sludge and municipal solid waste. Construction and demolition debris and “appropriate” cover material, such as incinerator ash and contaminated soils, can be accepted until the entire facility closes on Dec. 31, 2009.

The schedule calls for the landfill’s final cap to be in place by the end of 2010.

“The general feeling is relief. We’re ready for closure, and it can’t come soon enough,” said Bill Lippincott, chairman of the Hampden Citizens’ Coalition, which has fought attempts to expand the landfill.

Over the years, there have been frequent complaints about odors emanating from the site.

The closure is made possible by the state’s 2003 purchase of Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town. That, according to DEP Commissioner David Littell, secured sufficient capacity for all waste generated in the state.

Casella withdrew its application for increased capacity at the Hampden landfill in April. The DEP was set to turn down the application because the added capacity was not necessary to meet Maine’s solid waste needs.

Instead, Hampden and landfill officials drafted a five-page closure proposal that won endorsement from the Town Council and the Hampden Citizens Coalition,

“I think (the closure) is tremendous for the whole area and for the town of Hampden in particular,” said Littell. “It shows that (landfills) can come to an end.”

Casella hopes to build a gas-to-energy facility that would burn landfill gases and provide clean energy, said Don Meagher, the company’s manager of planning and development. The landfill contains enough gas to supply about 3,000 homes over 10 years.