MILLINOCKET – They have been in effect for less than a month, but the state’s newest recycling requirements seem likely to drive up taxes in East Millinocket, Medway and Millinocket.

Public Works Department officials from the three towns told their bosses during a regional government meeting Wednesday that recycling televisions, computer monitors and other mercury-carrying devices – per a new state recycling mandate – smells expensive to them.

The town government officials agreed. “I think it’s going to get bigger,” Medway Selectman James Lee said of recycling in general and the state’s new program. “It’s getting to be more and more every year.”

Since Jan. 18, a new state law requires mercury to be removed from the universal waste stream. As of July 20, landfills will no longer be allowed to accept mercury-laced devices.

The Public Works employees expect the level of mercury waste left for recycling at the town’s three dumps or recycling centers to increase as the law becomes better-known, but already town workers are being diverted to handle the new task.

Other expenses – such as transportation of the wastes to consolidators – are being felt, said Danny Violette, East Millinocket’s Public Works Department director.

Still, it’s not like taxes will go up tomorrow. Because the program is only just starting, no one at the meeting had any real idea of the cost they will bear with the recycling program – obviously a key element in figuring tax rates.

The town officials, who have begun meeting every one to three months to discuss common problems, discussed setting a common recycling user fee for all residents to avoid one municipality getting buried in items from other towns.

“Eventually we ought to be looking at a regional center for all three towns,” Millinocket Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said. “If you ever get into a regional transfer site, then it would all be very easy … right now we’re not there.”

“Even if you have a user’s fee, you’re still going to have to raise taxes,” Millinocket Town Council Chairman David Nelson said. “We need to tell people that this is something that is coming.”

The three town’s recycling areas or dumps serve about 8,500 residents.

The officials promised to continue to collect data on recycling so that they might be able to begin discussing a common recycling user fee when they meet on April 12 in Medway.