This is unprecedented. If oil companies accumulate lawsuits for their role in global warming, ExxonMobil is this time being sued by California for its contribution to plastic pollution.
More specifically, ExxonMobil – the world’s largest producer of polymers used to make single-use plastics – is singled out for having ” participated in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastic pollution crisis “. This complaint follows two years of investigation.
California accuses ExxonMobil in particular of having, since 1970, adapted and promoted the triangle arrow symbol for plastics. “ This symbol is now strongly associated with recycling and consumers are led to believe that items bearing this symbol can and will be recycled when placed in the recycling stream. In reality, only about 5% of America’s plastic waste is recycled, and the recycling rate has never exceeded 9%. », Explains the Attorney General of California, Rob Bonta, in a press release. The firm has “ falsely presented all plastics as recyclable, when in fact the vast majority of plastic products are not and probably cannot be recycled, either technically or economically », summarizes the attorney general.
Since 1985, more than 11.8 million kilos of waste have been collected on California’s beaches and waterways, of which approximately 81% is plastic, details the state press release, which specifies that most of the Plastics collected during California’s annual Coastal Cleanup Day come from ExxonMobil polymer resins.
