[bebrbrhrj]

I think so but the practical issues are:

Tax is one big pool of money and I doubt the money will be used to fix the issues created.

A similar idea, carbon taxes and carbon credits trading seemed politically dead at least in my country even though it is a fantastic idea.

Edit: what might work is a 5-10 British pound ransom, released on return of the disposible to a recycling centre. Give the used devices free to a reclaiming merchant that operates out of the same country.

[ajmurmann]

IMO the point of charging for negative externalities isn't necessarily to fund remediation of the negative externality but to internalize the cost and force the actor to make a decision about value to them and cost based on the real cost.

If batteries are a waste issue they should be more expensive till we as society feel we are adequately compensated for the externality created. We shouldn't pick and choose what use cases are valid for others. Everyone has different circumstances and preferences.