Image by Dustan Woodhouse on Unsplash
Last week, the state of California slapped ExxonMobil with a lawsuit. The state claims the oil conglomerate deceived consumer, and lied about recycling for decades.
California’s Attorney General seeks payment for the decades of false claims that plastic is recyclable, and for the plastic pollution the state now has to reckon with. The global petroleum giant led consumers to believe that plastic was highly recyclable when it is very much the opposite (only 5% is recycled). AG Bonta said:
“The plastics industry has known for decades that — unlike paper and glass and metal — plastics are not designed to be recycled and therefore do not achieve a high recycling rate. Yet, the industry made every effort to convince the public otherwise while profiting off the planetary crisis it created.”
