Politics & Government

Survey to Help Gauge 'Effectiveness' of Plastic Bag Ban in Barrington

The Conservation Commission has been given the task of assessing the impact of the ban; a survey will be used to help gauge the ban's impact.

Barrington should have some idea of the effectiveness of its ban on plastic shopping bags by the end of this year.

The Conservation Commission has been given that task by the Town Council, said member Joseph Roberts, a Roger Williams University professor who proposed the plastic bag ban in the spring of 2012.

The ban was turned into a reality in January by the Town Council for a two-year trial. A "sunset" provision in the ordinance creates an expiration date for the law -- Jan. 31, 2015. The law will have to be revisited again at that time.

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“How have habits changed?” Robert said. “We want to survey both businesses and residents on their thoughts and attitudes about the implementation.”

Roberts plans to distribute a survey electronically and in hard-copy form. He wants to use the Roger Williams University’s own survey system: Qualtrics.

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“It’s similar to Survey Monkey,” he said. “But it’s a more dedicated academic survey system that allows the use of more questions.”

Roberts plans to tinker with the survey form over the summer and then involve Roger Williams students in September when they return to campus. 

“Being an academic,” he said, “I want to make it a learning experience for students as well.”

The survey won’t be a true random survey, he said. 

“We don’t have a budget to do that,” Roberts said. “We won’t have access to a database, which costs more than we could ever afford. So, it won’t be randomized.” 

Roberts said the survey also will aim principally to help determine what people think about the ban after 9 to 12 months.

Roberts expects to have a survey ready to go live soon after the fall semester starts – maybe by the second week of September. He anticipates that the responses could be compiled by the end of September and results available by November or December.


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