NORWAY – Recycling naysayers may have a lesson to learn from Norway and Paris, where residents are recycling at rates that could save them thousands.

Each year the two communities pay a collective $27,890 to participate in the Oxford County Regional Solid Waste Corp.’s recycling program, said Educational Director Marie Bartlett on Tuesday. So far in 2004, the towns have recycled 439 tons of materials like cardboard, No. 2 plastics, aluminum and newspaper.

The magic number to no-cost recycling for Norway and Paris is 389 tons, Bartlett said. That quantity of materials, she explained, is expected to fetch about $27,890 on the recyclables market.

Because Norway and Paris have already exceeded their 389-ton goal for the year, Bartlett said, “They are recycling, for want of a better word, for free.”

Solid Waste Corp. Plant Manager Warren Sessions on Thursday attributed the success of the two towns to their mandatory recycling programs.

Each town requires residents to throw trash away in clear plastic bags, so attendants at the solid waste and recycling drop-off center in Norway can see whether recyclables are being thrown away. In addition, attendants are on hand to make sure the proper materials are going in the recycling bins.

Of the 18 towns participating in the county recycling program, Norway and Paris are among only six to have broken even on costs so far this year. “And they’re also the only mandatory recycling towns that we have,” Sessions said.

Upton, Bethel, Hanover and Newry have also met their tonnage goals early, however.

At the recycling center in Norway on Thursday, Ernie Fitts of Paris was among a steady stream of people passing through.

Unloading recyclables from his truck, he said he recycles whenever he drops off trash.

Recycling was difficult “only in the beginning,” Fitts said, returning an emptied plastic bin to his truck. “Anything new is hard, but after you get into it, you want to do it.”

Ellen Ahos, also of Paris, said she recycles every week.

“I don’t mind (recycling),” she said. She separates glass, plastic, paper and cardboard in separate bags at home, making it easy to drop them off on a regular basis.

Bartlett said Oxford County Regional Solid Waste Corp.’s recycling program has been in place since 1991.

It would have cost Paris and Norway $31,468 to dump the 439 tons of materials collected this year in a landfill, she said. Because the towns are saving money, Bartlett added, each will see lower recycling bills next year.