I suspect that separating a stream of trash is simpler if the stream is younger and lower volume. Suppose we created a "Recycler" -- a mandatory household app

I suspect that separating a stream of trash is simpler if the stream is younger and lower volume. Suppose we created a "Recycler" -- a mandatory household appliance like "Dishwasher" and "Dryer" and "Oven". This fantasy device has a few holes on top for common use cases, it beeps at the user if they screw up or when full, and it compacts the waste into small blocks. A cross between a paper shredder and trash compactor. Since it integrates with your household Nest devices, you can link the device to the city waste department to receive sweet rebates on the electricity you wasted to power it. Rebates that the city pays for with the money they receive from taxes levied on manufacturers. The entire scheme is far more wasteful than requiring manufacturers to pay for disposal of their packaging, but since it pushes even more burden onto the consumer I think it's a winner.