[timschmidt]

I think the externalities of plastic recycling must be internalized economically by requiring all manufacturers of items to pre-pay for the recycling of said items up front, as part of the manufacturing cost. Similar to how bottle returns are managed, which has been very successful. Items which are provably biodegradable or designed to facilitate repair may be exempt.

[throw310822]

Plastic bags are already taxed where I live. Consumers pay that tax, obviously. Other costs imposed on producers of plastic items will just be passed down to consumers.

[timschmidt]

That's lovely, but it's not what I described. Bottles aren't just taxed. They have a refundable deposit. This ensures they don't end up in a landfill.

[M95D]

That ain't working. A plastic bag discarded in a ditch by the side of the road, or blown by the wind from the landfill, is still going to end up into the ocean. No amount of prepay recycling is going to take back that plastic from the ocean.

[timschmidt]

Read 'em and weap:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparative-Table-of-Rec...

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Comparative-Analysis-of-...