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A comment on Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making them safe for use. Parent comment

Re:Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making t... by labster on Sunday July 17, 2022 @05:33PM (#32131568)
The free market already accounts for externalities by making other people pay for them.
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Re:Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making t... by legalcorrection on Sunday July 17, 2022 @06:13PM (#32131950)
That's literally true but that's inefficient. The question is whether it's more inefficient than whatever you try to do to solve it and the risk it does more harm than good.
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Re:Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making t... by culi on Sunday July 17, 2022 @05:43PM (#32131670)
that's not how that works
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Re:Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making t... by oarsinsync on Sunday July 17, 2022 @06:01PM (#32131839)
In theory or in practice? How should/does it work?
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Re:Picking up free lithium cells off the street and making t... by culi on Sunday July 17, 2022 @07:01PM (#32132395)
By the literal definition of what an "externality" is.

A company cutting costs by dumping their PFAS into the local river isn't being "paid for" by anyone. Except with our health and all the dead insects and fish and compounding environmental effects brought with it

By definition an externality is a "market failure" because the market completely fails to account for this effect. There are "positive externalities" as well, but that's obviously not relevant here

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