California sues ExxonMobil and says it lied about plastics recycling
California is suing ExxonMobil for allegedly deceiving the public for half a century by promising that recycling would address the global plastics pollution crisis
SAN FRANCISCO — California sued ExxonMobil Monday, alleging the oil giant deceived the public for half a century by promising that the plastics it produced would be recycled.
Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said that less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product in the U.S. even though the items are labeled as “recyclable.” As a result, landfills and oceans are filled with plastic waste, creating a global pollution crisis, while consumers diligently place plastic water bottles and other containers into recycling bins, the lawsuit alleges.
“'Buy as much as you want, no problem, it’ll be recycled,' they say. Lies, and they aim to make us feel less guilty about our waste if we recycle it,” said Bonta, a Democrat, at a virtual news conference, where he was joined by representatives of environmental groups that filed a separate but similar lawsuit Monday, also in San Francisco County Superior Court.
“The end goal is to drive people to buy, buy, buy and to drive ExxonMobil’s profits up, up, up,” he said.
ExxonMobil, one of the world's largest producers of plastics, blamed California for its flawed recycling system.
«For decades, California officials have known their recycling system isn’t effective. They failed to act, and now they seek to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills,” Lauren Kight, spokesperson for ExxonMobil, said in an email.
Dozens of U.S. municipalities as well as eight states and Washington, D.C., have sued oil and gas companies in recent years
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