PARIS – Getting rid of old appliances could become more costly due to pending state mercury management requirements.

Alison McCrady, general manager of Norway-Paris Solid Waste Inc., is expecting a jump in appliance disposal fees for 2005.

“I’m not sure what the (Norway-Paris Solid Waste) board is going to do with it, but it’s going to affect our budget,” she told the Paris Board of Selectmen at a meeting Monday.

McCrady said she will soon have to start checking discarded household appliances for parts containing mercury, which will take time and involve extra fees.

Residents today are charged $5 to dispose of an appliance, she said. It costs Norway-Paris Solid Waste $10 to remove Freon from a refrigerator and $12 to remove it from an air conditioning unit. Residents are not charged the full removal costs because the $5 appliance fee has in the past paid for these expenses, McCrady said.

Not all appliances require the removal of hazardous materials.

McCrady did not have a price quote for the mercury removal fees on Monday, but said she was letting the selectmen know that a budget increase could be on the horizon.

Selectman Barbara Payne asked whether any increase might be passed on to residents. McCrady said a hike in the appliance disposal fee may be possible.

Selectman Raymond Glover said residents should note that any related increase in costs would be due to state regulations rather than local decisions.

Norway-Paris Solid Waste is a quasi-municipal service that relies on appropriations from both towns. Norway and Paris each raised appropriations of $240,000 this year to run the corporation, which runs both the transfer station and the Frost Hill landfill.