This is an externality, and the best role of government in a market economy is to tax externalities such that the tax imposed is enough to "fix" the externality

This is an externality, and the best role of government in a market economy is to tax externalities such that the tax imposed is enough to "fix" the externality. Fixing it would be extremely expensive, so it would make plastics only viable where they are needed most, and in applications where there is tracking and accountability in recycling and waste management. Also note two major flaws in your reasoning about trying to blame pollution as a "market economy" failure. 1. The US military is the biggest single polluter around [0], outside of perhaps some "non-market-economy" country's militaries like China and Russia. It's hard to know exactly how much damage they do and impossible to hold them accountable for it. The substances they leak into groundwater tend to be worse than plastics. Good luck finding a government model that doesn't have a military. 2. Most of the microplastics in the ocean are coming from third world countries, where there simply isn't enough wealth for there to be political willpower to reduce externalized pollution. The real solution we need is more futuristic waste management technologies that can break down harmful pollutants and turn them into usable material, and I expect they will come from the "market economy." [0] https://qz.com/1655268/us-military-is-a-bigger-polluter-than-140-countries-combined/ https://qz.com/1655268/us-military-is-a-bigger-polluter-than...