Maybe you could frame them that way. Vandalism causes damage to society (and a cost to repair/clean). There may be smaller prices society could pay, by providin

Maybe you could frame them that way. Vandalism causes damage to society (and a cost to repair/clean). There may be smaller prices society could pay, by providing some kind of alternative to tagging or destruction of property. Hypothetically, with plastic bags, maybe you were paying 6 cents per bag, through taxes, for the city to send people out to clean up litter. With a 5 cent tax, the cost is more obvious, but discourages everyone (including litterers) from using as many bags. With fewer bags to pick up, the city can spend less on cleaning crews (now easily covered by the 5 cent tax), and the 6 cents can go to something more productive. As a bonus, you've lowered the long-term environmental damage rate from bags that get away. The thing is, the liability caused by the polluters was already on the entire population, whether or not they polluted, and even whether or not they used plastic bags at all. It feels worse (and more unfair) because you're made more aware of the costs involved, even though there's been an improvement in the overall situation (including for you, the non-polluter).