Under
a double-taxation scheme, the second levy would act to make new
standard containers more expensive than used ones and promote a
shift to the latter.
What would be the
result of such an approach? Store shelves would look different.
Groceries would be heavier to carry. Consumers would collect their
standard used jars and bottles and sell them for cash to recycling
firms that would process them for resale. Reuse would be achieved
without the bureaucratic and inefficient need for deposits and
refunds, or the involvement of governments. An enormous amount
of resources would be conserved. Landfill and intermediate chemical
use would decrease drastically.