California sues Exxon for misleading public on plastics recycling

FILE – An ExxonMobil fuel storage and distribution facility in Irving, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

LOS ANGELES – Exxon Mobil allegedly engaged in a decades-long “campaign of deception” about the amount of plastic waste the petrochemical giant produces and its role in causing irreversible damage to the environment and potentially the human body, according to lawsuits filed Monday by state officials and Los Angeles-based environmental groups.

In his suit, California Attorney General Rob Bonta contends Exxon ran an “aggressive” campaign to deceive the public and “perpetuate the myth that recycling will solve the crisis of plastic pollution.”

The state complaint alleges the petrochemical giant violated California nuisance, natural resources, water pollution, false advertisement and unfair competition laws.

FILE – California Attorney General Rob Bonta fields questions during a press conference Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

In a separate suit, the locally based Surfrider Foundation and Heal the Bay joined a coalition of groups raising similar issues regarding Exxon’s alleged role in hiding the causes of the global plastics pollution crisis.

Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suit seeks unspecified damages estimated by the attorney general at multiple billions of dollars.

“Plastics are everywhere, from the deepest parts of our oceans, the highest peaks on earth, and even in our bodies, causing irreversible damage — in ways known and unknown — to our environment and potentially our health,” Bonta said in a statement.

“For decades, ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” he said. “ExxonMobil lied to further its record-breaking profits at the expense of our planet and possibly jeopardizing our health.”

The lawsuits allege that the oil and gas conglomerate led the public to believe that plastic waste is easily and safely disposable via recycling, incineration or landfills, when in reality, plastic persists in the environment for thousands of years, leaking toxic chemicals that are known to harm human health and the environment.

Exxon has worsened the environmental crises involving plastic pollution and harmed California’s coasts and waterways, according to environmental advocates.

The company is the world’s largest producer of polymers used to make single-use plastics. The materials are produced by the company from fossil fuels and are then molded — by other companies — into single-use plastic. For decades, the lawsuits allege, Exxon falsely promoted plastic as recyclable, when in fact the vast majority of plastic products likely cannot be recycled.

According to the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club, Heal the Bay, and San Francisco Baykeeper, plastic pollution never biodegrades, but breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces referred to as microplastics. It is in drinking water, food and air, the environmental groups say.

Both complaints were filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.

“Plastic is choking the life out of our ocean,” said Tracy Quinn, president and chief executive of Los Angeles-based nonprofit Heal the Bay.

“It’s turning California shorelines into waste dumps. And it’s also draining our pocketbooks. California taxpayers shell out an estimated $420 million each year to clean up and prevent plastic pollution from fouling our public places. Public money should be used for public good — not subsidizing big profits for Big Plastic.” (CNS)

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