And somewhat perversely, while a chemical plant's waste is concentrated in a single place, which makes it straightforward (if expensive) to contain and treat, t

And somewhat perversely, while a chemical plant's waste is concentrated in a single place, which makes it straightforward (if expensive) to contain and treat, the "industrial waste" embodied in consumer products gets spread across the entire planet, eventually landing in millions of unlined municipal landfills, bodies of water, and unsafe 'recycling' facilities. The most straightforward solution would be a deposit covering the eventual disposal cost of products, which would then be refunded as the product was responsibly recycled (similar to aluminum cans in some parts of the US), but of course I don't expect to see anything like that in my lifetime. Much easier to pay lobbyists to allow you to continue externalizing your costs on the public.