After a contentious start, things have quieted down substantially for the Gloucester-owned Middle Peninsula Landfill and Recycling Facility at Owl Trap in the upper county. Operated by Waste Management, the facility observed its 20th year in business in late June.

Even before the landfill was built, the Gloucester Board of Supervisors wrangled for months over whether to site such a facility and, if so, where. Olver Inc., a consultant, had recommended a property at Marlfield, also in upper Gloucester, as the top choice, but large crowds turned out to protest that choice and swayed the board from placing the landfill there.

The supervisors then turned their attention to Owl Trap, located just off Route 17 between Adner and Glenns, which was ranked as the consultant’s second choice among 32 sites inspected by the company.

For several months in 1993, supervisor meetings were taken up mainly with public comment, as people turned out in large numbers to speak out against the Owl Tra...