(San Francisco) California filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil on Monday, accusing the oil giant of deceiving 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 United States, even if the items are labeled “recyclable.” As a result, landfills and oceans are filled with plastic waste, creating a global pollution crisis, while consumers dutifully place plastic water bottles and other containers in recycling bins, the lawsuit claims.
“Buy as much as you want, no problem, it will be recycled, they say. Lies! They aim to make us feel less guilty about our waste if we recycle it,” Bonta, a Democrat, said at a virtual news conference, also attended by representatives of environmental groups that filed a separate but similar lawsuit Monday, also in San Francisco County Superior Court.
“The ultimate goal is to get people to buy, buy, buy and drive up ExxonMobil’s profits,” he said.
ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest plastic producers, blamed California’s failing recycling system for the situation.
“For decades, California officials have known their recycling system is not effective. They failed to act and are now looking to blame others. Instead of suing us, they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills,” ExxonMobil spokeswoman Lauren Kight said in an email.
Dozens of U.S. municipalities, eight states and Washington, D.C., have sued oil and gas companies in recent years over their role in climate change, according to the Center for Climate Integrity. Those actions are still working their way through the courts, including a lawsuit filed by California a year ago against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, claiming they misled the public about the risks of fossil fuels.
The lawsuit announced Monday stems from an investigation launched by Mr. Bonta’s office in April 2022 into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries that included issuing subpoenas that revealed previously hidden documents, Mr. Bonta’s office said.
The complaint alleges violations of California’s nuisance and unfair competition laws and claims that ExxonMobil concealed the harm caused by the plastics.
The complaint was filed a day after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a statewide law banning all plastic bags in supermarkets.