system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Do you think we could turn plastic waste into a currency?

As you probably already noticed I don't really know anything about economics but here's my thinking: If you could pay for things with otherwise useless plastic, directly or indirectly, that would encourage companies to recycle a larger amount of their products with less plastic ending up in nature. 

Also there would be more plastic collected out of the sea and other places where it ends up. Recycling would take in an important role because oil is of course limited. 

But the most important thing is that there wouldn't be any more plastic waste because it has value to people. they wouldn't just let a piece of plastic which can actually feed their family lie on the ground and walk past it.

As I said I'm a zero in economics and my idea is probably not possible in reality. I would like to know why it isn't possible.

Edit: Thanks a lot for your answers! I think I can understand now.
gpt
What i think you are suggesting is a Pigouvian subsidy. That people get paid to gather plastics.

I know that this is done in small scales like festivals and smaller cities. And on a larger scale with contracts But it is very difficult to do on a larger scale on a voluntary basis as you risk creating perverse incentives making people dump plastics in nature so that they can get rewarded for picking it up. 

Making all plastics into redeemable currency would not work as plastic is extremely common and it would make every vendor have to try and figure out what each piece would be worth and then somehow sort and store it, too complicated.