California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Monday, Sept. 23. He claimed the company lied about plastics being recyclable.
Bonta posted on social media about the first-of-its-kind lawsuit.
“We’re suing ExxonMobil for a decades-long campaign of deception that perpetuated the plastic waste and pollution crisis,” Bonta said in in video. “We’re revealing the ugly truths. What ExxonMobil knew when ExxonMobil knew it. How ExxonMobil hid the truth and deceived the public. But, big oil’s long history of putting its profits before the people of California will be revealed and we will prevail.”
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Bonta said it’s time to hold ExxonMobil accountable for misleading marketing campaigns. He also alleged the company tried to convince the public that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution problem when it clearly knew that wasn’t possible.
The lawsuit asked the San Francisco County Superior Court to rule that ExxonMobil must pay civil penalties and other fines for the harm caused by plastic pollution in the state.
Bonta’s office said that even with recycling programs, less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product in the U.S. even though the items are labeled as “recyclable.” This results in landfills and oceans being filled with plastic waste.
ExxonMobil has not commented on the lawsuit.
