ORONO — Farmers and townspeople may benefit from a pilot leaf recycling project that began when Waterville and Winslow collected leaves for compost last year. The compost will be used on a Winslow farm this spring.

The program may save Waterville $35,000 in leaf-removal expenses, sponsors said.

The project is an educational effort by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to show benefits of cooperation between farmers and municipalities in solving waste problems. A videotape has been prepared to document the leaf- recycling project for other towns to use.