> all the otherwise externalized costs. What is the externality here? Trash left over when the product is discarded? Regulating the manufacturer is a classic

> all the otherwise externalized costs. What is the externality here? Trash left over when the product is discarded? Regulating the manufacturer is a classic progressive roundabout way of not regulating the externality directly. Instead, perhaps a better solution would be regulating the amount of wasted resources / complexity to recycling, such that the consumer is made very aware of the environmental impact of a product that is no longer in use. And if the consumer was truly bearing a non-environmental burden for cheap stuff that is hard to fix and breaks easily, they would keep name-brand businesses with durable products in business (and indeed, they do).