ExxonMobil deceived the public with plastic recycling, lawsuit claims

California’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ lawsuit claims ExxonMobil knew it had a plastic problem.

By Justine Calma, a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

Sep 23, 2024, 4:30 PM CDT



Plastic bottles and other trash piled up along the bank of the San Gabriel River just a few hundred yards from the Pacific Ocean. Photo: Getty Images


ExxonMobil has misled consumers for years by perpetuating a “myth” about plastic recycling, according to a new lawsuit filed by the state of California.

ExxonMobil is the world’s leading producer of single-use plastics that become waste, according to the state attorney general’s office. To encourage people to buy products made with single-use plastics, the suit alleges, ExxonMobil “deceived Californians for almost half a century by promising that recycling could and would solve the ever-growing plastic waste crisis.”

“They clearly knew this wasn’t possible.”

Plastic is quite difficult to reuse, which is why very little of it is ever recycled. Promoting recycling as a cure-all for plastic waste can actually lead to more of it becoming trash, experts warn. Now, the state of California wants to hold industry accountable for the plastic pollution that has accumulated in the environment, animals, and even people’s bodies.

“For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press release yesterday.

More:
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/23/24252433/exxonmobil-knew-plastic-recycling-lawsuit-california