Barrington and Bristol have both banned the use of disposable plastic grocery bags, and Warren may soon follow suit.

Members of the Warren Conservation Commission are recommending to the town council that Warren follow the lead taken by its neighbors to the north and south, banning the distribution of the bags by stores throughout town. Commission members made the recommendation — due to be discussed by the council over the next month — after talking to business owners here and studying Barrington’s ban, which has been in place for several years. Bristol’s ban was just passed by the town council and will not be enforced until next year.

“It’s not a ban on plastic bags,” said commission member Dave Weed. “It’s just a ban on stores giving them out at no charges. I’d love to see then numbers of how many go out; it’s got to be hundreds of thousands in the community.”

Council members asked the commission to study the issue after June Speakman, a Warren Planning Board and former Barrington Town Council member, brought the request before them several months ago. Commission chairman Butch Lombardi said Monday that it’s clear to him and other commission members that while the bags are a convenience, they do more harm than good. As a wildlife photographer who has helped place osprey nests at Jacob’s Point and other conservation areas in town, he said he’s seen firsthand how much damage they can do.

“Every single osprey nest I’ve either viewed, monitored or looked at has at least one and sometimes more,” he said. “These birds are getting these bags out of the marsh; that to me shows what a big problem it is. It’s unhealthy for the whole population.

Over the past month, commission members have spoken to a host of businesses including Tom’s Market and Ocean State Job Lot, and he reported that there was little resistance to the idea of a ban when he and others brought it up. He believes business owners will have no issues complying with the ban as long as it’s a town-wide policy:

“They’re not going to oppose it,” he said of Job Lot specifically. “They realize there will be some cost but as long as it’s accepted as a regulation that they have to comply with it, they think their customers will be fine with it.”

Said Mr. Weed: “We’re in favor of (the ban) obviously. It’s a big issue. I’m out a lot and they’re everywhere. They’re in all the marshes, they’re in the woods, they’re alongside the street.”