This is known as a Pigovian environmental tax. It isn&#x27;t done for the same reason we continue to subsidize the living daylights out of industries like industrial corn farming - while it&#x27;s likely a good idea in the long run, in the short run it&#x27;s a fast way of not getting elected for another term.<p>It&#x27;s also a really hard thing to do fairly. How do you determine &quot;costs&quot; of specific environmental ills? How much is a pound of waste cardboard worth in tax dollars? What about something entirely non-recyclable, like a designer thermoset plastic?<p>(I&#x27;d love to see it happen though - I just doubt that the political will exists to see it through)