California sues Exxon over plastic pollution, recycling ‘myth’

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Exxon Mobil on Monday, alleging the oil giant waged a “decades-long campaign of deception” that overstated the promise of recycling and spawned a plastic pollution crisis.

The complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, argues that people are more likely to buy single-use plastics because of the false belief, promoted by Exxon Mobil, that they are recycled. Bonta said the company is a major producer of a key component used to make single-use plastics. The complaint seeks unspecified damages that Bonta said would amount to “multi-billion dollars.”

In an interview, Mr Bonta said plastic pollution was “fuelled by the myth of recycling, and the leader among those perpetuating that myth is Exxon Mobil.”

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The case opens a new front in legal battles against oil and gas companies over climate and environmental issues. More than two dozen state and local governments, including California, have filed lawsuits Companies accused of misleading the public for profit have been accused of playing a role in the climate crisis. None of these groups have yet been tried.

The complaint filed Monday in California alleges that Exxon Mobil promoted the widely used “tracking arrows” symbol on plastic products, leading shoppers to believe that their bottles and other products would, in fact, be recycled if disposed of properly. But only about 5% of plastic waste in the United States is recycled, according to Mr. Bonta’s office, citing an estimate from the advocacy group Beyond Plastics, which reviewed 2021 data. At the same time, the amount of plastic manufactured, much of it single-use, is increasing every year.