The solution is to produce less of it. Any other solution unless there is a way to decompose something back into useful molecules is just a stay of execution.
> unless there is a way to decompose something back into useful molecules
There is, and it's called "plasma gasification". The main reason it hasn't become popular is because it's not profitable. But it is a legitimate technique that can enable actual recycling of plastic.
Couple plasma gasification with green energy, and we can use all the plastic we want, as long as we're willing to pay the cost of properly recycling it.
There was some work done on using solar furnaces to use them for the destruction of very toxic substances. 100,000:1 solar concentrators or something to that effect.
A (deceased) friend of mine had an even better idea: resource extraction tax. Never mind VAT but instead tax for the use of virgin resources and leave the rest untaxed. The recyclers would put the miners out of business.
I fear this could also have plenty of unintended consequences. Depending on the tax, maybe more things will start being shipped in Teflon coated cardboard.
None of that stuff really matters directly though. What matters is actual impact on the environment. Things like pollution, habitat destruction, etc. That's what should be taxed/discouraged.
If someone can extract resources with no environmental cost, I would definitely NOT want to penalize them.
