[mulmen]

Seems like we need both? A deposit encourages people to return the container responsibly but the product price still needs to accurately reflect the externalities. If the container is easier to reuse or recycle then the tax can be less.

[delusional]

You could just ignore the whole incentive thing and demand more recycling.

Here in denmark we still allow Coca-Cola to externalize the cost, but then we have a public system that collects and recycles/reuses the bottles, Funded by taxes (who cares which ones). In this way the product price still doesn't reflect the true cost, but at least the bottles get recycled.

[mulmen]

Well everyone should care which taxes because that drives incentives.

Recycling is not ecologically free. If we are going to keep living on this planet we need to incentivize sustainable practices. Specific tax policies can help make those practices economically feasible.

If your grid is clean and you use a utility tax to fund recycling then you have inflated the cost of renewable energy and subsidized plastic.