California Sues ExxonMobil for Selling the Lie That All Plastics Are Recyclable

The state of California filed a lawsuit Monday in opposition to oil large ExxonMobil for its function in creating thousands and thousands of tons of plastic that pollute the land, water, and human our bodies—all whereas selling the concept that most client plastics are recyclable, one thing that’s merely not true.

A press release from California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta on Sunday alleged that ExxonMobil has been “deceiving Californians for half a century” through the use of “deceptive public statements and slick advertising” that promised recycling would be capable of deal with the large quantity of plastic waste on the planet produced by ExxonMobil’s polymers.

It’s solely prior to now decade that the general public discovered a lot of the plastic positioned in recycling bins around the globe by no means really will get recycled. Typically the plastic is shipped abroad to locations like Southeast Asia, whereas different occasions it’s simply despatched to a landfill. China, which was once one of many world’s hottest dumping grounds for plastic waste, stopped taking imports of the plastic for “recycling” again in 2018. Solely about 5% of plastic waste within the U.S. really will get recycled, based on the most recent research.

The brand new lawsuit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court docket on Monday by the Lawyer Common, who’s taken intention lately on the single-use plastics which are just about not possible to recycle. Single-use plastics embody plastic packaging, plastic luggage, plastic straws, and disposable utensils, amongst a bunch of others. Bonta first launched an investigation in 2022 into the fossil gas and petrochemical industries and their function in creating the plastics disaster.

“By its deception, ExxonMobil has induced or considerably contributed to plastic air pollution that has harmed and continues to hurt California’s setting, wildlife, and pure assets,” Bonta mentioned in a press launch.

Whereas the general public has largely been at the hours of darkness about the truth that most plastics aren’t really recyclable, California’s lawsuit factors to an extended historical past of ExxonMobil allegedly pushing false claims that made it look like plastics have been getting recycled. For instance, Bonta calls out a 1989 advert from an ExxonMobil-linked commerce group in Time journal that claimed plastics could be recycled.

The damages being sought by California aren’t specified within the swimsuit, which has been posted in its entirety online, although it does ask the courtroom to drive ExxonMobil to “hand over the earnings gained by means of their unlawful conduct,” and pay unspecified civil penalties.

California studies that greater than 26 million kilos of trash have been collected from the state’s seashores and waterways since 1985, with over 80% of that trash being plastic. But it surely’s not simply the pure setting that’s been inundated with plastic prior to now 50 years. Scientists are more and more discovering an increasing number of microplastics within the human physique, in all the things from our hearts and livers to human brains and testicles.

“Plastics are all over the place, from the deepest components of our oceans, the best peaks on earth, and even in our our bodies, inflicting irreversible harm—in methods recognized and unknown—to the environment and doubtlessly our well being,” Bonta mentioned in a press launch in regards to the lawsuit.

“For many years, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the general public to persuade us that plastic recycling might clear up the plastic waste and air pollution disaster once they clearly knew this wasn’t potential,” Bonta continued. “ExxonMobil lied to additional its record-breaking earnings on the expense of our planet and presumably jeopardizing our well being.”

“Right now’s lawsuit reveals the fullest image so far of ExxonMobil’s decades-long deception, and we’re asking the courtroom to carry ExxonMobil absolutely accountable for its function in actively creating and exacerbating the plastics air pollution disaster by means of its marketing campaign of deception.”

ExxonMobil didn’t reply to questions emailed on Monday. Gizmodo will replace this publish if we hear again.