Banning things, adding taxes for things, providing incentives are all tools we have to manage externalities. We generally have a budget for how many restrictions we can impose, and we've banned plenty of things (such as slavery). Obviously we don't just go on a banning spree, but the argument that "banning is bad, America doesn't do it" is, IMO, not realistic or how our country has always operated.

Laundry detergent doesn't contain phosphate for similar reasons. Zoning laws generally have tight restrictions on what a land owner can build.